Just a Coincidence
by QTCal
Summary: By a twist of fate, a girl is saved by none other than Date Masamune. For some other-worldly or godly reason, there is an immediate and almost dangerous connection between the two. Though Masamune promised her to return her back to where she came from, the questions remain. The most important being: Can they control their emotions before they destroy each other? (Masamune x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello. UvU**

**This is my first fanfiction on here, and I really just wanted to spread my work to anyone who's interested (which I hope is a lot, but hoping!) in a little bit of love for our beloved character, Date Masamune. As the summary states, this is a Date Masamune x OC. **

**Constructive criticism is extremely appreciative, and even if you don't have anything to correct, just having your review is good enough. I hope you enjoy reading.**

**-QTCal**

_Italics _are thoughts or flashbacks...

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Sengoku Basara or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

There was a ray of light that flittered past the barred, wooden windows that let the young girl see her surroundings for the very first time. Her face was against the dusty floor, and although her bound hands and feet made her uncomfortable, the bruises and sores of unknown origin forced her to lay still. Closing her eyes, the girl let her mind wrap itself free from the careless tranquility that clouded her thinking.

First, there was the pain, then the entrapments; her nose itched from the musty smell the room had and she heard nothing but the sound of her own breathing. Her clear eyesight flickered and she blinked slowly several times to focus, already growing tired from simple actions.

_The room was empty. _

_Why was it empty?_

_Or, more importantly, where was she?_

Attempting to take a deep breath, she coughed out the dust particles she collected instead and groaned, rolling onto her back then decided against it when her hands were beginning to become crushed by her own weight.

_Wait - stop; Again, where was she?_

Freezing for a few moments, the girl darted her eyes around the room once again to find out that _wow, _the room really was empty; and she wasn't even in her room. She grudgingly ignored the searing pain moving caused her and, after a few attempts, managed to sit up against the wall. Breathing heavily, she felt her heart begin to beat faster and faster, slowly entering a panic-state.

_Wait... Wait..._

She told herself, trying to remember what happened before she was here. Considering the fact she still had her night gown on... Did she go anywhere? What happened before she got here? Suddenly as she tried to retrace her steps she felt a jolt of pain go through her head. She groaned, hands struggling against the rope bindings in attempt to raise them and hold her head.

_Why couldn't she remember?_

Feeling the familiar panic-attack coming, the girl tried to think of a solution to all of this before she reverted to crying out of helplessness. But - she cried out in pain once again, finally forcing herself to really look at her battered body. There were bruises on her calves and her arms and back as she could tell; cuts were on her feet and fingers but she didn't remember how she got any of them.

She got kidnapped - that was the only reason why she was here, drugged, most likely, bound, still in her pajamas, and in a strange place that showed no evidence of living quarters. Now that she figured that out, what was she going to do now?

Then she heard voices from outside her room pass by the window and made the light flitter across the ground. Frightened, she held her breath and closed her eyes - an automatic reaction of fear she had developed over time, and heard the men enter the room, laugh menacingly, and then take her by the arms and feet to a place she wasn't sure was going to be any better than this.

* * *

Not far from the girl's abandoned hut was a large crowd of army men patrolling the borders of Oshuu. This was ordinary and, in a lack of a better word, boring occurrence that happened every other week in Date Masamune's life. Resisting the urge to yawn as they traveled through the forest, Masamune slowed down enough to ride next to his retainer, Katakura Kojuurou.

"Are we half-way done with going around the borders yet, Kojuurou?" Masamune drawled, his one eye taking a quick look to monitor his 'right eye's expression, which, as expected, showed nothing to how he was feeling.

"As a matter of fact, we are, my lord," Kojuurou replied, looking back at his lord patronizingly, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "We need only to travel for a few more miles before heading back to the compound..."

The Date Army's leader glanced back at his retainer who paused in the middle of his sentence. Kojuurou was staring intently past his lord and into the deep forest, making Masamune turn and peer at the forest also.

"You hear something, Kojuurou?"

"Not exactly... Rather, I saw something... There!"

Narrowing his good eye, Masamune saw a glimpse of three men carrying what seemed to be a person. Raising his brows in surprise, he whistled in interest at the idea that there was in fact, some bandits roaming around on _his _turf.

"Well? Lord Masamune, do you plan on taking action?" Kojuurou asked, though he already prepared himself for the battle that was to come.

Smirking, Masamune responded back with a feral grin, "About time something interesting happened! Let's get this party started!"

* * *

_Stop._

_Stop._

Her mind screamed but her body refused to comply with speaking her thoughts, having been drugged yet again. The sun's light flickered in her line of sight as the bandits carried her body quickly through the forest under the abundant trees that grew here. Groaning, the girl refused to give up and began to wildly flail her slowly numbing arm. Somehow, the grip on her arm had loosened and she had slammed her fist, fully powered, into the bandit's face, causing him to trip, fall, and drop her. Rolling away from the bandits, the girl tried to quickly rise onto her feet and run, but the drugs had weakened her body greatly, disorientating her, causing her to lean against a nearby tree trunk to gain her balance.

"The little-!"

"-you idiot!"

"Grab her-!"

Vaguely recognizing the mess of voices flashing together in her ears, she pushed herself off from the tree and started to unstably run, using her new-found adrenaline, and simply go somewhere far from the people behind her.

Suddenly, the earth began to rumble and she, in her concentration to escape, had a moment of bad coordination from the movement and fell onto the ground. She heard the sound of a pack of horses rushing toward her, and a panic forced her to act quickly and run before the horses headed this way and ran over her.

As if having similar thoughts, the bandit ran the same direction as her and unfortunately saw her. His face contorting into an ugly expression, he cursed at her and ran toward her with his sword drawn out. Cursing under her breath, the girl darted around the forest and grabbed the only rock she could see that could offer her even the littlest of protection.

"I've got you now, you wily wench!" The bandit screeched from behind her, pointing his sword threateningly at her. "I almost can't wait until I finally get my money's worth from you!"

Grabbing more rocks, she began to throw them at the bandit, hoping to disorientate him enough to run. Angry, the bandit took a slash at her, only to have her quickly hop back to avoid getting anymore injuries. Again and again, the man took more slashes at her and she continued to dodge, feeling the effect of her wounds and the fading adrenaline.

Her body abruptly couldn't react fast enough to the next slash and she could only scream and hold her hand out to protect herself from the sword that almost cut past her hand. She lurched backward and, unable to catch herself, fell to the ground. The blood dripped profusely as the girl gripped her hand, her eyes closed tightly in response to the amplified feeling of pain that resounded from her hand to her entire body.

"I've got you now- URGH-!"

The bandit's body suddenly fell motionless in front of her as she could only stare in shock. Looking around for the person who did the deed and finding no one, she struggled to get up and grab his sword with her uninjured right hand, though she had fumbled with ripping the dead man's fingers from it.  
Pulling out the sword swiftly with one hand, she forced herself to wield the metal sword with two hands, wincing as she did so. Hearing a bush rustle on her right, the girl raised her sword in that direction and posed herself ready to fight through her walls of fear and fatigue.

Whatever's going to happen will happen, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

A man came out from the dark bushes with his sword raised, and with an almost feral instinct, she attacked him with all the strength she had. Every attempt to get a hit on him was useless as he could deflect everything she tried on him. Though now that she was slowing her attacks, he could hear him speak clearly.

"Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!"

Backing up with unsure steps, she stared at the man with a scar on his left cheek. The blood from her hand slowly leaked onto the sword's blade and finally dropped into the cover of green below them, creating a mark in this pure forest floor. Breathing heavily, she could feel her body beginning to slow down and her eyes wanting to droop lower and lower.

The man approached her carefully, having already sheathed his sword. "Please," he said slowly, "let me help you."

And as if those words were the only thing she needed to hear, her body shut down right after, and the last thing she could feel was his strong arms catching her before she could fall.

* * *

The girl they had found was asleep for three days and counting while they healed the countless wounds on her body. The nurses couldn't help but look at the girl with sympathetic eyes as they gingerly daubed the antiseptic on her injuries before bandaging her. By the time they were done, her body, minus her face, was covered in white and the nurses had cooed affectionately that at least her darling face was still flawless.

Typical nurses, Masamune snorted as be watched them file out of the room, give him a courtesy bow, and leave. Figures they would somehow connect with the young unconscious girl, calling her "loving child*****" before she could even speak to them.

When Masamune had asked his retainer why he saved her even when he knew her body (and possibly even her mind) was broken and battered, Kojuurou merely deflected his answer and told him to finish his paperwork by tomorrow or else. Heaving a sigh at the thought of work, Masamune gently closed the paper door and sat down, putting his hands into his sleeves as he gazed upon the young girl who was sleeping like the dead.

His good eye flittered over the girl's body, observing it for what it was: well-endowed, strong, soft, and tan. It was strange how she showed mixed signs of both a noble and a villager's physique. Her body before had almost no injuries; to have gotten so many in so little time and survive really was quite a feat. Masamune could see why the nurses had fallen in love with the girl already: she had heart. Despite his acknowledgement of her hidden strength, he knew that this... feeling he had inside him just at the sight of her wasn't just pity, right?

"'Aiko', huh?" The One Eyed Dragon murmured to himself, brushing a strand of stray hair away from the girl's face, "I guess that's your name now, and I have to say... it fits."

The birds chirped out a carefree song as it flew past the guest rooms at the early morning. A very dim light from the sun shined through the paper doors and created a light spectacle by her hand that had suddenly tensed itself in pain as the girl awakened herself from her deep slumber. Staring at the ceiling unblinkingly, the girl slowly raised her tightly bandaged hand over her head and stared at it, trying to recollect what happened before she had blacked out.

_She had seen a man with a scar on his left cheek who reached out for her as she fell._

Closing her eyes for a few moments, she could hear only the sound of her steady breathing and the low brush of grass as the wind blew by it. Losing her desire to sleep unless she knew where she was, the girl pushed off the covers, ignoring the strange numbing pain in her limbs. The thin white yukata that she had been wearing rolled off her shoulders, but her body was so covered in bandages she hardly noticed. She slid the paper door open only to wince at the bright light that reflected off the small pond within the Zen garden before her.

The peacefulness of her surroundings almost overwhelmed her. So unusual was this tranquility was when she realized that the last few days were filled with the most traumatic things she had ever seen in her life - blood, entrapment, abandonment, panic - that she expected something else to happen. The adrenaline in her system, she supposed, was why she was not hurting as much as she should. Glancing over at the white bandages on her arms and legs, she felt the lines of the bandages on her arms, but without her hands being free, it felt pointless. Deciding immediately, she began to pick at the bindings on her fingers, ripping them one by one.

* * *

Masamune had woken up early for a reason he didn't know and, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, got up to walk around the compound. With steady footsteps, he walked around the compound, his mind slowly wrapping itself on the idea of the girl - again. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about her. What was she like? Why was she still alive? He blinked in surprised as he turned the corner and saw the girl from the forest awake and trying to pry the constricting bandages from her hands. Ignoring the random skip of his heart, he smirked and called out to the girl.

"Hey - what do you think you're doing, taking off your bandages?"

Jumping away, the girl pulled her hands behind her back, the tone of the voice appointed toward her causing her to become defensive. Nervously, the girl stood looking down at the floor instead as the man approached her with deliberate steps. Though, she did know that this man was not the one who had found her in the forest.

Stopping in front of her, Masamune stood with a relaxed stance as he stared down at the girl who meekly avoided meeting his eye. "You know," he began, "you may not feel it now, but your body is in a lot of pain and the bandages are going to help it; so getting them off right now isn't a good idea." As the girl slowly shifted her position with her hands in front of her and surprisingly bright brown eyes looking at him, he nodded approvingly and spoke again. "You feelin' alright?" Seeing her nod, he gave her a quick quirk of his lips.

"Well, I guess I'll have to introduce myself." Masamune cleared his throat as the girl blinked, waiting. He said, "I'm Date Masamune, ruler of the land of Oshuu."

"Oh..." said the girl slowly, "I know." (She talked, Masamune thought.) Though the person was in fact, in front of her and not an old man in a history book, she vaguely knew of other adaptations of the One Eyed Dragon via anime, game... A small pang of emotion took her breath away for a moment before she regained it back and stared at him. Although, now that she recognized him, she stared at him suspiciously as if he would disappear the moment she blinked.

Slightly miffed, the One-Eyed Dragon raised his eyebrows in question. "...Alright..." He shrugged inwardly, it wasn't that much of a surprise that she knew him; he was, after all, the leader of Oshuu. As the girl continued to stare at him like he had grown three heads, he felt a strange irritation grow in him. Without thought, he raised his hand and flicked her forehead, earning a small cry of pain. "Stop looking at me so blankly," he grunted, eye narrowed. "It's not like you're still sleeping - and man, do we all know you've done that too much lately."

Rubbing her forehead and putting out a pout, the girl said apologetically, "Sorry... Um, how many days was I out?"

"Three," Masamune deadpanned bluntly.

The girl began to sputter, her expression contorted into disbelief - such so that Masamune couldn't help the amused smile that came onto his face. She exclaimed without thinking, "Three-! Are you serious?"

"You know, some people say I don't kid around a lot, but you know," said Masamune with a teasing tone, "it depends on the situation." His grin widened as he saw the girl's face slowly turn redder and redder in embarrassment.

"W- well, anyhow... Um, thanks for... saving me back there," she said, bowing in respect and appreciation, her red face slowly dissipating with the somberness of the topic. "And um," she started, the color starting to crawl back onto her face as she faced the handsome warlord, "if there's anything I can do to pay back... I'd do it."

Just to poke fun at the girl again, Masamune let his poker face slide on and pretended to think, watching as the girl began to fidget and play with the loose bandages on her fingers. A sudden thought entered his head - how exactly was he being so... relaxed with this girl? Knowing him, he could have just met her in the Red-Light District and forgot... but she didn't seem immodest or promiscuous enough to belong there. It was interesting, to say in the least, and since she needed to stay for a while until her wounds healed, he might as well made use of her gratitude. More importantly, the longer she stayed the more time it gave him to figure her out; he had an itching feeling that she...

"...What's your name?" He asked abruptly after minutes of silence. What he didn't expect was to see the girl hesitate. Did she forget her name?

The girl faltered at the simple question asked of her and flushed in immense embarrassment. What was wrong with her? She knew her name - it was easy; why was she doing such stupid things in front of him? But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to call herself the old name again. She had gone through so much but changed so little, and yet her name seemed to be a foreign thing to her. "Um... I... I don't..."

Masamune stared at her thoughtfully and paused before suggesting, "How about Aiko?"

She blinked and asked with her head tilted, "Aiko...?"

"For your new name - Aiko - how is it?" Masamune could feel the grin creep up again and he let it show as he urged her to accept her new name. "It's a... name. Better than nothing, right?"

Seemingly thinking about her new name change, the girl suddenly smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah - Aiko; it's cool. I'm Aiko." She said to herself, trying out her new name for herself.

"And Aiko, I have a request for you," he said, seeing as he had her full attention. "If you serve me for a certain amount of time, well, I'd say you wouldn't owe me anything anymore, alright?"

Sticking out his hand, the One Eyed Dragon smirked at the girl as she stared at him with the same innocent yet intense gaze Masamune knew now was how she drew Kojuurou in to save her. Without a moment's hesitation, Aiko took his hand and shook it. A sudden jolt of excitement threw the both of them off and they grinned at each other without knowing the real reason why.

Something was about to begin.

* * *

**A/N: And that settles Chapter One (or is it the prologue...?). I sincerely hope you enjoyed this. C:**

***"Loving Child" is the translation of the name Aiko.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Introducing Chapter Two! C: Please enjoy!

And it begins. 3

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Sengoku Basara or its characters.

* * *

A cool summer breeze blew past the Oshuu Compound as the One Eyed Dragon yawned, tears of sleepiness at the corner of his eye. He sat lazily in front of his work desk, leaning on his left propped-up arm as he glanced over the paper in his right hand. On the side of the table was a teacup - refreshed every hour - and outside his open door was Aiko who was furiously wiping down the hallway with a wet towel and clothed in a new attire.

Every other second or so, he would peek up from his long document and watch Aiko as she worked steadily without stopping. Snorting, he realized that she had a much better work ethic than he did. Looking back at the document in his hand, Masamune could only refrain from yawning again by concentrating on the sound of Aiko working away. If he closed his eyes, he could hear her quick footsteps going up and down the hall as she swept the ground with both hands on the towel at full speed.

When he had given her the wet towel and bucket first thing, she had stared at him for a few moments in confusion only to have her face light up after understanding. Taking the equipment, she went on her way into cleaning the East Hall. Those expressions… **Ha! **He would say that she was endearing - cute, but even if he said that to himself, there was still something about her, about _**this**_ that he needed to know.

And the need was the only reason why he kept her as his servant; he doubted she'd stay if she had no favor to return. Certainly, the boundless happiness that she portrayed even when doing routine tasks such as this meant that she was cared and adored by people she called family. The thought of her cheerful childhood in comparison to his brought no ill emotions from him and he watched her with his one eye in an unfamiliar tenderness.

Aiko wasn't like him. She wasn't cursed with a childhood plagued by disease that took his eye or a loveless family that pushed him away. No, she was much happier, Masamune thought firmly, and it was best that way. She didn't need to know the loneliness he had grown so accustomed to. And the fact she had family meant that they would miss her if she didn't come home safely. (But still, there was that lingering feeling that questioned why she would offer to stay for an undetermined amount of time if she had people waiting for her.)

Chuckling at the pleasant distraction, he grabbed his cup to sip on it only to grimace at it when he found that it was cold. "Hey, Aiko!" Masamune called out, waving the teacup above his head. "I need another-"

"-Cup?"

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl had already taken the cup from his hand and obediently went off to grab a hot cup of tea for him. Smirking in approval, the warlord leaned back and twirled his dry paintbrush as he waited for his cup of tea to return piping hot.

"Here you go," Aiko said softly. She set down the tea cup right next to him and went back to cleaning. Picking up the broom to sweep the random weed in the garden, Aiko let out a small sigh. Normally, she would resent following a person's orders, but the pain kept her constantly reminded that the man she was serving had saved her one way or another. Then again, she considered the fact that even without the pain, she would be eager to please him anyways.

Perhaps it was because of his looks (she flushed) or his charismatic personality that Aiko reacted differently to the warlord. Perchance it was due to the fact she had no clue on what she was feeling, a constant struggle with herself; being unable to identify her own feelings kept her from sharing them and sometimes that caused her a lot more pain than she would have liked. Slightly flustered, she began to sweep furiously, minding her injuries and her surroundings. After cleaning up for who knows how long, Aiko looked up at the sky, covering her eyes from the sun's bright light with her still-bandaged arms.

Maybe… Maybe she still considered this existence here a dream despite everything that had happened to her. She could only hope (or did she?).

* * *

Seeing as the girl was busy once again, Masamune took a drink of his tea only to be greeted by his retainer as he turned to his right. "Hey, Kojuurou, I haven't seen you since this morning," he told him casually, grinning freely, his eye spotting Aiko as studiously swept the garden. There was a pregnant pause as Masamune drank his tea, his retainer remaining silent for some time.

Kojuurou stared almost exasperatedly at his lord and thought about his response before speaking it out loud. Slightly uncomfortable, the Right Eye tread carefully. "Lord Masamune..."

Taking another sip at his tea, Masamune patted the space next to him, welcoming Kojuurou to take a seat. Before his retainer could sit comfortably and continue, he saw his lord's lone eye glimmer in amusement before whistling a high pitch. Coming almost immediately, Aiko faced Masamune and Kojuurou with a near revering expression on her face.

"Aiko, go get another cup for Kojuurou, would ya'?" Masamune said, and the girl nodded in understanding, and smiled gratefully at Kojuurou (for the fifth time?). Suddenly feeling awkward, Kojuurou tried to refuse the cup of tea, which only made the girl hesitate, unsure whether to follow his or his lord's order. Waving a flippant hand, Masamune drawled, "Ignore Kojuurou, Aiko; go get him a hot cup of tea, alright?"

Nodding in understanding, Aiko compliantly wandered past the corner and disappeared. Although she wasn't eager to follow orders, she was earnest in earning back the favor that they had, in her eyes, in saving her.

"My lord..." Kojuurou began, miffed by the situation he had witnessed in full, "...You honestly cannot let the poor girl serve your every whim just because she is earnest in paying back a favor that does not exist!"

Personally, Masamune agreed, but willing to keep his inexpressible feelings a secret for a while, he scoffed and folded his arms into his chest and retorted back, "Well, she _insisted_ on helping out in any way she could. Who am I to complain? I always wanted a personal servant - even if it's just a little while. It's kind of amusing, don't you think?" Snorting at his own joke, Masamune rolled up the document that he had failed to successfully read for an entire thirty minutes; he definitely needed a break.

"And how long is this 'little while'?"

"I... haven't really thought about it."

Masamune shrugged, and took a sip before putting down his cup. At his careless attitude, Kojuurou's eyes twitched in annoyance - to think that he would act like a… like a child with a brand new toy! Honestly, Kojuurou thought exasperatedly, he should have known that the first moment a girl as innocent and sweet as Aiko doted upon his lord he would seize the opportunity to use that gratitude as much as he could.

Sighing, Kojuurou lifted his hand to his forehead as if expecting a headache to come soon. Despite this strange development, Kojuurou knew that his lord's feelings were not one-dimensional; there was something else that he wasn't seeing. Surely, these emotions, to have been brought out immediately by a person he hardly knew... Aiko really was something to already have his lord's affections and trust, though the man hardly realized it himself.

Kojuurou began to speak, "Do you really think she should spend the rest of her days at the compound as your servant? Is that all she's worth, my lord?""

Stopping in mid-action, Masamune whirled around to face Kojuurou with a surprised expression, his eyes widening as he wondered if Kojuurou had the same feelings as him. Quickly he covered his expression and asked casually, "Oh? What did she do to gain _your_ approval, Kojuurou?"

At his genuine surprised expression, Kojuurou couldn't help but give a small huff and a smile, his previous irritation dissipating. His lord honestly didn't think he wouldn't see that micro-expression, did he? It was obvious this girl held up some importance for him, despite his rather… unorthodox way to show it. "And what did she do to gain _your_ interest, my lord?" He pressed.

"Me? Well..." Aiko was... just a girl, but she had spark and flames behind those doe-like eyes of hers that admittedly lit a strange awareness in Masamune that knew that Aiko was different from everyone he knew. The raw determination intrigued the warlord just enough to make her stay, because somehow, somewhere in his heart of his, he knew that she was here... for him.

Somehow.

Though, it didn't seem that she realized this yet.

But Masamune simply gave a few beats of thought and responded, "If I'm honest, I don't really know; she's different?" He said, questioning himself with an amused smirk. He took a glance at Kojuurou, but hadn't expected the rather serious expression he took upon himself.

"...And I believe the same," said Kojuurou, straightening himself to emphasize the sincerity of the request he was about to make. Although it was on short-notice and Kojuurou wasn't sure either party would agree with him, he was certain that Aiko would be a... positive influence on his lord, if not a very large impact. (He could only hope it was good.) One thing remained obvious, however, and it was the blatant loyalty that Aiko already held for Masamune.

Blinking but interested, Masamune leaned toward his retainer in earnest. "What are you thinking, Kojuurou?"

Within the shade of the mansion, the light of the small Koi pond glimmered and made Kojuurou's eyes glimmer in enthusiasm.

"She can be your samurai, my lord."

* * *

Before... all this (whatever **this** was, Aiko thought), Aiko hadn't worked in the kitchen as much as she'd like. Though her mind was a little fuzzy on the events leading to her awakening within the hut, she was sure that her memories before were accurate - and knowing that, she still wondered every time she had a moment to think if **this** was all a dream.

The women in the kitchen bustled: clearing the tables, cleaning the vegetables, and washing the dishes. Amidst them was Aiko who was intent in helping out despite some of the ladies' insistence that she should be resting. Appreciative of their care, Aiko still managed to force herself in the kitchen to learn how things worked around here - the ladies probably allowed her in as an excuse for her to not work, but it was probably better this way.

The women and men, wherever they were in this place, had the old attire of Japan - rough cloth and all. Based off everyone's conversations, Aiko could assume that she was somehow... back in time? The thought was so ridiculous she almost laughed out loud (which would freak people out). The only reasonable explanation was that this world was a dream and she was in a coma from whatever happened before - but after smelling the god awful manure at the barn that she was ushered to because she was _sooooo _insistent, Aiko wasn't sure if this was a dream anymore.

Serves her right for wanting to work? Aiko wasn't sure when she was ever cared this much about her wellbeing, but then again she was never as injured as she was now. Her mother would always force her to lie down and recover when she was sick, always caring. Though, that was only when she was sick.

Flinching slightly at the remembrance of her abusive and kind words combined, Aiko shook away the lingering thoughts and continued to scoop up the manure into a cart that was supposed to be sent to the farmers by today. A horse snorted in her face as if it was laughing at her, and she gave it a leer before going back to work. As long as she kept working, she wouldn't think about home or question if this was reality or not.

Aiko continued to work, avoiding the inevitable question that she could not answer: If this was reality, how was she supposed to get back home?

* * *

The next time Masamune saw the girl was after dinner when the house had quieted down from its usual bustle. The night was illuminated by the waning crescent moon, and as Masamune looked up at the sky, the stars were shining brighter than before. He walked slowly in the halls with his arms crossed inside his shirt, the cool wind an appreciated comfort to him. Then, he saw Aiko sitting near the Koi pond, her fingers dipped into the chilly water as the fish gingerly approached her. She smiled brightly as one of the larger ones began to nibble on her finger and giggled, her laughter, for some reason, pulled at his heartstrings.

Shuffling through the grass as the breeze passed by them again, Masamune approached Aiko as she glanced up at him. She pulled her fingers away from the pond, making the fish splash away and creating a ripple in the otherwise unmoving pond. "...Ma- Masamune?" She stuttered, the name making her heart jump, though she wasn't sure if that was what she should address him as.

When the One Eyed Dragon did not respond, Aiko zipped her mouth shut and stared into the pond even as he silently sat down next to her. Except for the quiet murmur within the abundant rooms, the compound was still. Aiko fidgeted in her rigid position with her two legs pressed against her chest and willed herself to stare at the fish in the water instead of glancing at the handsome warlord. Nonetheless, when she stole a small glimpse at Masamune as he gazed into the dark sky, the moonlight's reflection off the pond flickered its light on his face, which had, at the sheer and sudden pull she felt for him, left her breathless.

"Aiko," he said unexpectedly, still facing up at the sky. Caught off guard, Aiko stuttered out a response. Hearing her flustered voice, Masamune smirked slightly before facing the girl with his piercing stare.

Tensing, Aiko could sense the somber mood and asked the warlord carefully, "...Is there... something wrong?"

"Why are you still here?"

Faltering before the sudden question, Aiko attempted to stay calm amidst the panic that was beginning to brew inside because of the question she didn't want the answer to. She stared at the war lord with a slight tilt of her head. Sighing lightly, Masamune continued, his voice questionably clipped and stiff, "What I'm saying is... Don't you have a place to go home to? Don't you have... a family? You seem rather relaxed for someone who was just kidnapped..."

At his blunt accusation, Aiko could feel her cheeks redden in embarrassment. How was she going to explain her feelings to him? She herself didn't exactly know what she was thinking let alone express those feelings in words to a person she would normally admire from afar. "...To be honest, I just think everything is a dream…?" Cringing at the way she worded her sentence, Aiko could only bite her lip and try to stutter her excuses. "Uh- w-wait, I- uh..."

A growing indignation rose from his chest and almost burst from his mouth in a series of shouts and accusations."A dream-?" Masamune started angrily, but shoved those words down his throat before they could be released. She thought everything was a dream? That he was a mere illusion created by her mind?

_That this uncanny, extraordinary connection between them was just made-up?_

Masamune growled and shook those pointless questions from his mind and glared at the cowering girl who was trying to recover from the bout of anxiety and embarrassment.

"I... I don't remember what happened to me before I woke up at the bandit hut," Aiko explained, her hands fidgeting over the silk cloth of her yukata, "so I don't know how I got here..." Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she continued quietly, "Everything here is different - the people, the culture, the way of living." Tasting some blood yield from the bite from her inner cheek, Aiko felt tears of frustration and pain well up in her eyes. Helplessly, she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do here; I feel really lost…!"

"If you feel so strongly that this place is all a dream, then you should wake up," Masamune spat out harshly, unable to contain the anger over the circumstances of their meeting. A mere coincidence? Divine intervention?

Who was she? Why did they meet? Why did they feel so incredibly attracted to each other? These questions that brought more questions only gave Masamune on-coming waves of frustration. Another part of him knew that his anger was misguided but what was he going to do? All these strange emotions were threatening to overwhelm him.

"W-wake up?" The girl sputtered, her voice rising along with an abrupt anger, sharp tears of vexation pricking her eyes. Feeling feeling defensive and offended, she spat out bitterly, "How do you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know and I don't care!" Masamune yelled, turning away from Aiko, though if he hadn't, he would've seen the girl's face crumple from her short-lived tirade. Breathing heavily, he closed his one eye in failed attempt to calm down. What happened to his plan of 'getting to know her better'? "Just go if you want to leave!"

"B-but...!" Aiko closed her eyes tightly in a fear of abandonment that suddenly grasped a hold of her as the situation's outcome came to her in a crash of emotions. Her home? She didn't even know where that was anymore. And how about her family? Her parents?

_Gone_...?

_A disturbing flash of disgustingly familiar distorted faces and splattered blood came into her vision before quickly disappearing as it came. Though, the meaning it portrayed was clear and it took her breath away._

"I..."

At the sudden ill-boding silence, Masamune turned his head to look at Aiko only to flinch in surprise at the sight of the look of a lost child on her face and of the lone tear it streaked down her face. Having been shocked into a calm state, Masamune could only mutely stare at the girl he had just started to know cry tears neither of them could understand.

Then, aware of the wetness on her face, quickly wiped away the tears with her newly bandaged hand and stared down at the ground, though it was blurry from the onslaught of never-ending tears. "S-sorry, I-..." Why was she crying? She stared at her hands through fuzzy vision and wondered why her heart hurt more than the scars on her body. She had _known_ what happened, but because of it, _now _she couldn't remember a thing. Although her conscious self could not recognize the sadness, the deep parts of her mind remembered and wept with sorrow from the repressed memory.

And now… she knew.

A large and warm hand wiped the remaining tears on her left cheek and Aiko looked up and saw through her teary eyes, a kind and strong lord. She choked on the unexpected feelings that came at her as she looked at him again, though this time, they were warmer, less hurtful. She gently grasped his hand that was on her face and pressed it closer.

It was so comforting, _so warm. This warmth... She welcomed it_. A few more stray tears were brushed away. "I...I don't have… any place to go home to."

Masamune asked quietly, carefully, "...You really mean to say you don't have a home to go back to anymore?"

"I'm not sure, but..." Aiko murmured, closing her eyes and focusing on the warmth as it guided her through her memories. _Her mother, her father, her grandmother, her grandfather, her uncle, her pet dog…_

There was a sudden coldness that dropped her heart.

_Gone._

"...Everyone's… gone…?"

"...Do you really think that?"

Aiko jerked her head up in surprise, half out of resentment at his seemingly heartless statement and half out of confusion. Sucking in a sharp breath, the girl stared at the warlord with hesitance. "What do you mean by that?"

"What if I helped you?" Masamune said suddenly, leaning forward, "Would you stay even for a little while?" The words "with me" were left unspoken. Despite its rather personal touch, the question he was trying to ask ever since he spoke to her was finally said. Although, with her puzzled expression, he knew he had to continue his explanation for her to understand, and hopefully, agree to stay with him until... well, he didn't know.

"This is what I'm offering," the One Eyed Dragon spoke, straightening his back and raising his head, taking away the hand that had comforted the girl in front of him. "Become my loyal samurai and I will help you find your way home because I know, _you know,_ that despite everything that has happened to you," he made sure to look straight into Aiko's eyes as he said this, "there will always be someone waiting for you."

'There will always be someone waiting for you.'

There will always be someone waiting for her.

_There will always be someone waiting for her-._

At those words, at that phrase that she had needed to hear all along, Aiko felt new and warm tears cascade down his face and onto her hands. The fact that Masamune, the One Eyed Dragon, her savior, said that she will never be alone in this world meant more to her than anyone would ever know.

He told her she was loved. He told her she would never be forgotten. He told her she had a home to go back to.

Letting out a teary laugh, Aiko tried to look at the man in front of her through a blurry vision. Giving him a wet smile, but a thankful smile nonetheless, Masamune couldn't help but smile back. Despite those rather... soft words, Masamune really did honestly believe that this girl, who was crying and laughing at the same time, _must_ have someone alive who wanted her back home safe and sound as soon as possible. And he was going to help her.

Setting his record time for patience, Masamune waited with a gentle gaze as Aiko turned her soft cry into a light giggle. With glossy eyes, Aiko gave him a warm smile and sighed. Turning back to the pond, she asked quietly, "...You want to me to be your samurai?"

Huffing with a small endearing quirk of the lips, Masamune nodded, telling her, "That's right. And until you find your way back, you'll stay with me. It's another deal - a better one, if I might say so myself."

Aiko let him hear another one of her laughs; one that sounded like the twinkle of bells that are heard only during festivals - lively and carefree. She knelt down and faced him, telling him with a bittersweet glance, "You're so sure you'll get me home, but I'm not even sure where it is!" What she didn't expect him to do was answer with the most serious expression she'd seen on him.

_"I'll get you home."_

And all Aiko could do was give him a whimsical smile, being unable to respond back with her heart at her throat at the statement that was said so confidently, so sincerely. Clearing her throat as best as she could, she thought out loud and said optimistically, "...I can always end up staying with you, right?"

Giving her a grin, Masamune acknowledged that thought heartily, "Definitely." Though, seeing as she was looking better than before, he treaded carefully as he continued on his offer for her to become a samurai. "...You'll swear to put your life on the line for me, a man you met only about a few days ago. Is that really alright with you?" Finally able to relax, Masamune leaned back on his arms and stared into the pond at the fish. "It's usually a life-long contract, but I'll let it go for you. How about it?"

"...Well, I guess if it's you, it'd be fine..." Aiko trailed off, suddenly realizing that everything was okay just because it was Masamune and not anyone else. Before she even knew it herself, she had already given her all to him. "But I'm just not sure if I can be a…" A samurai? How can she?

There was a slight pause and then a small sigh before he responded, "I know I didn't really give you a choice on this, but... this is your best option if you want to get home; we're all at war and finding your way back home isn't going to be without a fight."

Nodding numbly and then setting her jaw in a bout of determination, Aiko said firmly, "...Okay. Alright, I'll do it. I don't know how good of a samurai I'll be, but I'll try my best...!" Giving it a bit of a pause and then giving the One Eyed Dragon a bashful smile, she cleared her throat and gave him a low bow of respect, "...Lord Masamune."

Smirking, the feeling of anticipation and tenderness washing through him again, Masamune replied back, "That is **no problem,**Miss Samurai." Pausing, Masamune brushed back a portion of her hair behind her ear before giving her a small smile and standing up.

* * *

After saying his last words, Masamune quietly walked back to his room to sleep, knowing somberly and with absolute certainty that the girl he left behind was mourning for one last time. She would first, stay in peaceful numbness, remembering the happy times with her family, the sad ones, the good ones, and slowly, she would force herself to realize that they were gone. Tears would fall down again without end as she buried her face into her hands and as her body shook with muffled sobs of sorrow at the death of her loved ones.

The process was familiar, but everyone mourned differently. Her pain from loving her loved ones would be completely different from his loss of family he never got to know. For that reason, Masamune could not help her. This was something he knew she had to handle on her own. Even if he rationalized the fact that Aiko would be fine, Masamune could still hear the sound of her cries even if she was on the other side of the compound.

And yet, another day had come and passed, and Masamune had gained another samurai.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the follows and favorites, you guys! I appreciate it. C: **

**And also...**

**After thinking about it for some time, I've decided to add a few more things here and there, fill in those plot holes that I hadn't noticed in order to make sure that the story makes sense in terms of plot advancement. I can't have people falling in love left and right for no reason, am I right? ;3**

**Enjoy Chapter 3. UwU**

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Sengoku Basara or its characters.**

**Before I forget:**

_italics _- thoughts or emphasis

"**bold"** - Masamune's (if this was, you know, not in English) English

* * *

The One Eyed Dragon walked at a brisk pace, having woken up slightly later than usual. He stifled his yawn and sighed, scratching at his messy bed-hair that he had forgotten to flatten, wondering if today was going to be like usual… or not, considering that fact he had a new addition to his army.

"Lord Masamune."

Masamune turned his head to face his retainer as he walked down the halls toward the dining room, glancing at Aiko's closed room, and decided against calling her awake. Most of the people of the compound were awake by sunrise, but Masamune would let go of this one lapse in Aiko's schedule this once. "What is it, Kojuurou," he grunted, a yawn coming through despite his attempts in covering his fatigue.

Giving his lord a knowing smile, Kojuurou began to speak, "I see you've talked to Aiko about her upcoming occupation?"

"She said yes," Masamune replied, the mention of yesterday making him alert and awake.

"And…?"

Masamune and Kojuurou swiftly strided down the halls side by side without pause, the sun beginning to warm up and signal that the time was nearing mid-morning nine o'clock. Flickering his attention toward Kojuurou and then back to today's unfilled schedule, he gave a few moments of thought before answering with a grin. He knew she could handle anything thrown her way; she had already proven that to him and everyone else here. He might as well let her step it up.

"...Let's teach her how to use a sword," he said, ignoring Kojuurou's blank expression.

With his right eye twitching slightly, Kojuurou asked his lord stiffly, "...Are you sure?"

"Don't worry!" Masamune waved a careless hand, slowing his steps before reaching the dining hall door. "She can do it," he told Kojuurou cheekily and then closed the sliding door behind him.

* * *

When Aiko woke up the next morning, even the birds were still asleep and the sun still yet to rise. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her steady breathing instead of thinking of the realization of last night. Her breath hitched for a moment as she shook away those feelings of sadness. She cleared her throat and blinked away the tears of fatigue, trying to distract herself with the thought of Masamune Date.

A mere character she would have never expected to meet, Masamune was so much more real than what the books or the stories portrayed. With only tales of his prowess on the battlefield, Masamune was more than just a warrior to her. Though she met him only a few days ago, she could feel this incredibly fast-growing urge to know him more and understand him. He was a kind but impatient man. He was a charismatic yet lonely(?) person. And even though Aiko had seen some sides of the One Eyed Dragon the night before, she knew he had so much more to show her.

Aiko felt the greatest need to prove to him that she was fit as his samurai. Nothing, she thought, would be as important as this because she felt that if she were to ever disappoint him, she would have nothing left. She wasn't sure if that was true, but that was how she felt.

Closing her eyes in remembrance of the warmth, Aiko could hear the cluttered conversations of the servants awake and busy. Figuring she should have went out a long time ago, she quickly got up, stretched a bit, and opened the door, only to almost bump into Masamune's 'Right Eye,' Kojuurou Katakura.

"Miss Aiko?"

Jumping away from the door she just opened in surprise, the newly appointed female samurai flushed and muttered a small apology. Kojuurou chuckled and walked out to allow her some room, and a small smile of gratitude lifted her face once again. Closing the door as she exited the room, Aiko began to say, "Kojuurou-." She paused, not sure what to refer her savior as. "Sir Katakura-?"

Giving the girl an amused smile, Kojuurou said with a slight shake of the head, "Kojuurou is fine, Miss Aiko. If calling you 'Miss Aiko' is uncomfortable, please have no qualms in telling me; you are, after all, a fellow samurai of the Date clan."

At Kojuurou's welcoming words, Aiko couldn't help but beam and laugh. "'Aiko' is fine, Kojuurou. Thank you."

Together, they walked down the halls, with Kojuurou leading them to the dining room. Since she was a rather short lady compared to the retainer, she had to take more steps that he did to keep up, their footsteps like a drum that almost matched her own heartbeat at the excitement for today. She was to be by Masamune Date's side; the man who made her have indescribable emotions that felt as if it lit her aflame...

Uh... That... was a little weird, she rethought. Embarrassed at herself, Aiko walked, muted, listening to Kojuurou speak.

"A day at the Oshuu Compound usually starts at sunrise, so I suggest you get used to waking up early. Also," Kojuurou added, turning the corner quickly, forcing Aiko to catch up to him with faster steps, "before you settle in for breakfast, I would like to inform you that Lord Masamune has requested for your lessons in sword-fighting this afternoon." The important message spoken in an almost comically casual manner.

Aiko almost bit her inner cheek in surprise. "...Wait, so you mean-?" Sputtering at the sudden news, Aiko attempted to ask him for more information to no avail. Smiling and amused, Kojuurou turned toward the girl.

"Enjoy your breakfast, Aiko."

Then he left without saying another word, leaving Aiko to drown in her own thoughts.

She had… sword lessons... with... Masamune…? Already…?

_What?_

* * *

Despite the fact that both Kojuuro (okay, maybe he was a little unsure with the sword-fighting thing) and Masamune had complete trust that Aiko was going to do well as a samurai, the said girl felt quite the opposite. Though, what could she do but try? The extreme need to prove herself to Masamune she was more than just some girl and deserved to be by his side was trying to suffocate her.

It was too late to back out.

Aiko pressed her lips into a straight line as she slid her hand over the rough cloth of the trainee clothing that had been given to her shortly after lunch. The outfit, she knew, was similar to her lord: a long-sleeved, white yukata shirt with long, blue pants. If looking at it in a different perspective, they were like a couple with matching clothings.

But that was a little disturbing.

Aiko held back a shiver that almost coursed through her spine after she imagined the two of them, both together, happy-go-lucky, holding hands in a comic-like picture. Except for the fact they were together, nothing about that perturbing imagination appealed to her. In fact, the notion of such common, shallow interaction with Lord Masamune almost cheapened the unique relationship she had with him. Whatever relationship they had, she can't exactly pinpoint it, but it was much, much more than a pathetic fangirl-like adoration that lasted for a few weeks before dying.

...Though she was acting too _jittery_ around him than anything else. She needed to stop that, she told herself blearily, before their interactions stopped because of her inner-fangirl. First, she needed to become his friend. That's how things usually work, right? She had to get to know him better not because she was his samurai but because she truly wanted to get closer to him.

Maybe it would explain why she felt this urge to…

Fumbling with the small obi after putting on the cotton juban, Aiko only just tied it on her when the door behind her slid open. Spinning around, she was faced with Masamune, in his own training clothes. Flushing slightly as she thought of matching with him, Aiko turned around to save face and slap herself mentally before she killed herself from embarrassment.

"L- Lord Masamune…"

"You look good."

Surprised, she turned around and looked up to see Masamune smirking at her. She blushed and fidgeted with the hem of her yukata, trying to hide the fact that she felt too incredibly happy at his compliment, flippant or not.

_Okay, stop. Relax. _

Giving him a small smile, Aiko managed to clear her throat and reply, "Thank you."

Ruffling her hair in good humor, Masamune exited the door and waited for her to walk with him to the courtyard. Normally, he would have went ahead, but this time he decided to slow his pace and wait for the girl who had managed to capture his attention. Impatience caught him earlier than he anticipated and he almost paced in the halls, too excited to see her pick up a sword and show him those intense eyes again. Certainly, her body packed a pretty hard punch despite being so small. Grinning at Aiko as she walked toward him with a half smile, he slapped her back and pushed her forward.

"Haha! Don't look so worried! You'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."

* * *

Aiko and Masamune walked casually together down the wooden halls of the compound, toward the courtyard. It was the best chance she had in the last day to talk to her lord, and Aiko _needed_ to make a conversation with Masamune before it was too late or awkward. Though, she didnt know what to ask. How did she make friends in the first place? Did she just talk to them about their life or did people just click with her due to similar interest? When did people start talking about personal things? Should she even think about this-?

"Err- You know," Aiko started, her heart beating faster in nervousness, her mouth speaking before her brain thought it through, "I've always... wanted to learn how to use a sword."

_Why did she say that-_

Masamune raised a brow in surprise. "Did you, now?" He asked, "How come?"

Ecstatic she earned his interest, Aiko let her steps contain a leap and composed herself before answering with a small smile. "Well, when I was little, I'd always listen to stories about warriors who saved... princesses or something, battling dragons, monsters, and all those things."

Seeing her lord nod in acknowledgement, Aiko paused before asking him, "And, uh, did you learn how to fight since you were little?"

"...Well, as the son of a samurai, I had to learn how, but," he explained carefully, facing forward, "_everything_ I know now is because of Kojuurou. No one else taught me anything."

There was silence in the halls except for their two footsteps, and if someone had been listening closely, he could hear the falter in Aiko's after she heard the tone of loneliness in Masamune's voice. She held her breath for a moment to calm herself, but she could not hide the expression of concern on her face. Seeing as Aiko hadn't commented, Masamune turned around and gave her a small quirk of the lips.

"Don't give me that look," he said, his gaze soft. "I'm fine. I turned out alright with just Kojuurou, right?"

Aiko felt a pang of sadness overtake her for a minute as she imagined a life of having one person. Where was his parents? Did he have siblings? Why was he alone? She wanted to ask these questions so badly, but did she dare on such a delicate subject? Instead, she gave him a bright smile, hoping it made up for some of his sorrow. "You'll always more than just Kojuurou," she said kindly.

"You have me now too."

_..._

The first thing Aiko thought immediately after was, _"I hope it helps him."_

The second thing she thought was, "_My god, that was so cheesy."_

And then:

_"But it's true."_

She gave the gaping warlord a sheepish smile, a light blush on her face. Trying to clear things up, she began to stutter out, "W- Well, and you have your army- I mean, we're all your family/friends right? That's why we're here by your side and all..."

The only thing the warlord could do was stare at the girl as if he had just seen her just now.

Suddenly, Masamune snorted. "Is this you trying to say that you're my friend?" He asked, a tone of amusement in his voice, that was, in fact, masking the fact she made his heart beat rapidly from the innocent request.

Aiko wasn't sure of herself what she meant, but she simply nodded. This was what she started the conversation for, after all. "Yeah," she started, "even if I'm your samurai, I'm still your friend... right?"

"Right," Masamune responded, hooking his arm around Aiko's neck and then roughly rubbing his knuckles into her head despite her small complaints. He grinned. "I guess what they say about 'a friend in need is a friend indeed' is true."

Finally able to escape from the One Eyed Dragon's grasp, Aiko sputtered and fixed her hair, giving her lord a light leer. "Sure," she drawled, feigning more annoyance than she actually felt. And when he chuckled at her antics, she sensed something grasping at her heartstrings, her happiness rising just from seeing him laugh. Abruptly, she felt as if being his friend was not enough, that her existence in this world at this moment in time was for more than being friends.

But maybe she was just greedy.

* * *

Walking next to her was unbearable; not because she was bad company (in fact, she was the opposite), but because the urge to just be closer and _closer_ to her was threatening to overcome him.

But what was up with this feeling? She was his friend, right?

Masamune never had many with his high ranks and lonely childhood, so when Aiko plainly told him she was his friend, he had mixed feelings. Could they really just be friends with this... attraction? Could he call it that?

He glanced at her as they walked. She seemed to be okay, but then again he didn't know her expressions so he wouldn't be able to tell if she was hiding something. Yet.

But being friends... was good. It was at least a good start to perhaps becoming more.

* * *

Whatever she told Masamune during the elongated walk was true. Ever since Aiko was little, she was never the stereotypical little girl who loved to play with barbies, make-up, and dress-up. Although she did have her own tiny dramas with barbies and her tea-cup set, Aiko was introduced early to the art of gaming. From the first picture, she was seen playing games, becoming the hero who was to save the princess. With her childhood, the love for warriors, not necessarily the fighting, kept with her until present day. She wanted to learn how to ride a horse, use a sword, carry a bow, save the princess (which could be seen in her case, herself).

And now she had a chance to do so.

Despite the excitement she had, she couldn't help but fear the disappointment of failure in doing the things she had always wanted to do.

Aiko waited in the courtyard, fidgeting as she looked between Masamune and Kojuurou who were not saying a word.

"Um... So..." Aiko said nervously, tugging on the long sleeves of her simple battle outfit. "I'm going to learn... how to fight... right?"

"...Pft-" Masamune let out a sound of amusement before he could stop himself. He covered his mouth with his fist, trying to muffle his laughter at his uncomfortable Aiko looked.

Ignoring his lord, Kojuurou nodded and responded, "Yes." He gave Masamune a stern look before glancing back at the rather jittery girl holding the wooden kendo sword. "As a samurai, you must learn how to handle the sword... Even though I think that it's too of a short notice for you to start so suddenly, Lord Masamune seems to believe that you will perform well without further prepping."

"I..." Aiko swallowed, feeling the lump in her throat and the tremor in her hands at Masamune's great expectations. She glanced at her lord, trying to find an answer as to why he had such high goals for her, but only got a small smirk as a response. "Thanks...? B- But I'm not sure if I can actually do that right away...?" She could feel her heat up at the pressure that suddenly appeared before her to succeed. How was she going to do that?

"Aw, come on." Masamune grinned, either ignoring her discomfort or reveling in it, she didn't know. He turned his palm up in the air and drawled flippantly, "It's just waving your sword around, **you see**?" The way the female samurai flushed in embarrassment just made him grin wider and attain a bigger urge to tease her. The amusement he took in annoying, confusing, or embarrassing her made him forget about the other complex feelings for her, which was good; none of them needed that type of distraction.

"Thank you for your helpful input, Lord Masamune," Kojuurou responded, his voice clipped, a tell-tale sign that he was more than miffed at his lord's childish behavior. Rolling his sleeves up and picking up his bokken, he sighed, "Let me teach you for now since our lord is fully incapable of patience-"

Abruptly, Masamune stood in front of Kojuurou before he could approach Aiko. He smirked at his retainer, mischief glinting in his eye that made Kojuurou twitch in annoyance. Speaking loudly, Masamune announced, "Alright, Kojuurou, you can stand over there while I make Aiko a lean, mean, fighting machine." Smiling ferociously, Masamune rolled up his sleeves and turned toward the more-than-frightened Aiko. "Alright-! Aiko, **are you ready**?"

"Y- Yes? N- No?" stuttered Aiko, alarmed, but even more so when she saw that Masamune had six wooden swords pointing toward her. Nervously, she said, "L- Lord Masamune, w- what are you doing-?" She began to walk backwards, her conscious telling her to run right now. (Right now!) Instead, Masamune's answer only further drove her senses into overdrive.

The One Eyed Dragon growled, baring his fangs. He approached Aiko, ignoring Kojuurou's warning, and started to sprint toward her at a frighteningly fast pace.

"W- what?! M- Masamune! W- whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the _hell_ are you-?"

"Get ready, Aiko; your lesson starts _now_!"

All the girl could do was screech and run away from the much-too-happy dragon. Kojuurou could only chase after them in vain, hoping that Aiko had enough sense while running away to defend herself with her own sword.

* * *

With the unsuccessful method in which the One Eyed Dragon attempted to teach (but was he even trying to teach her?) his samurai how to fight, the retainer made sure that his lord would not be the one to teach Aiko how to use a sword. It was just Kojuurou and Aiko in the courtyard, both having pulled out their bokken from its sheath and practicing the strokes of the swings. Not much to her surprise, Kojuurou was an excellent teacher; he was patient, thorough in his explanations, and he made sure that Aiko was to work hard to become as perfect as possible.

Aiko wouldn't have it any less than that.

"The one thing you must have in order to use the sword in battle is stamina, knowledge of pivoting and the basic positions, and strength." Kojuurou pursed his lips as he spoke, "Becoming a samurai is not an easy task and will require hard work, though I doubt you didn't expect that by now."

The female warrior nodded and adjusted her grip on the _bokken_, making sure she was grasping it tightly, but not with all of her strength. She listened intently to Kojuurou's every instruction, very much eager to begin the individual lesson with him as Masamune probably had done when he was younger. The wooden sword was heavier than she thought it would be, but she was determined to carry the weight like a true samurai.

"...although a real sword is sharp," the Dragon's 'Right Eye' explained while swinging swiftly down, performing three perfect swingsin a row, "when it is swung incorrectly, the sword will bend." He glanced back at Aiko and asked, "Do you understand?"

When he saw her nod, Kojuurou spoke again, "Now do the _kata_ I just showed you: three basic swings, three left _kesa_, and three right _kesa_."

Nodding eagerly, Aiko breathed in deeply and raised the sword in front of her, right hand on top, left on the bottom. She raised her sword above her head and swung once, only to be stopped by Kojuurou. "Wait," he said, raising a hand and approaching her. "I can tell that with the way your arms are slightly bent that you're putting strength at the _kissaki_, but with your shoulders. That is incorrect; you are using the strength of your arms, and if need be, your entire body." As Aiko processed the information and took a few test wings, Kojuurou nodded and said again, watching her closely, "Alright, continue with the routine."

With a little bit of work, Aiko was doing the exercise proficiently, swinging with Kojuurou's approval, and even daring to take a step forward and do two swings consecutively. Without a doubt, her fighting style was developing from the basic techniques, and she could feel excitement flow through her at the thought of becoming a true samurai.

The girl swung left, right, making sure she stepped with the right foot and with the right movement every time, shaking her head every time she made a mistake, and did it again and again. For some time, there was only the sound of the wind whooshing as she swung, and she almost forgot that she was with Kojuurou until he spoke suddenly.

"I have great hopes for you," he said, making Aiko stop her swing mid-way. She glanced at the other retainer in question, unsure if she heard him correctly.

"...Kojuurou?"

The Dragon's 'Right Eye' elaborated on his thought. "One could only hope," he spoke, his eyes never breaking the eye contact with the female warrior, "that what I saw reflected in your eyes when I first met you was an undying determination and will." Giving Aiko a small smile, he said kindly, "For you to have shown such eagerness to serve Lord Masamune, shown such loyalty and kindness to our lord was more than anyone could ever imagine, and I must thank you for that."

The female samurai loosened her grip on her sword and let it drop until its tip fell onto the ground. She stared at Kojuurou with a softened expression, feeling a warmth spread within her chest that knew what Kojuurou was trying to say. And yet, her heart clenched in guilt at the trust he had for her despite her intent to not stay.

"I hope that, despite whatever deal you have made with Lord Masamune, you will be comfortable with us." Kojuurou chuckled lightly, gesturing toward the After all, you are part of the army, part of the town, part of the family."

Aiko could feel a lump block her throat, and she tried to swallow it down, attempting to speak several times but could only produce strained sounds. "...Do you know that…" She began shakily, "it's… _this_ is temporary? Should you be teaching me even if I won't stay?" She asked questions she didn't want but needed the answers to. Worst-case scenarios could be perceived in the back of her mind, which caused previous doubts to emerge along with it. Did she deserve being by Masamune's side? Would Kojuurou accept her even when her loyalty for their lord was timed?

There was silence for a time, all the which Aiko stood stiffly, holding her breath for the answer she would hate to hear. Instead, Kojuurou sighed, and put his hand on top of her head. "...We will decide what to do when we get there," he said. "But right now, what I see is heart." And at the back of his mind, Kojuurou didn't believe the female samurai when she said that her presence at the compound was temporary. There was no question to her undying loyalty, but even now, he could speculate the dilemmas in the future if she had a choice to stay or go. As he said, however, they would cross that bridge.

"...I'm going to promise you this though." Aiko vowed, pressing her right hand to her heart, "I'm going to protect Lord Masamune as his samurai for as long as I stay here."

Giving the girl a knowing smile, the retainer nodded approvingly. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." He straightened his back, as did Aiko and resumed the training.

They had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Masamune could see it, her determination, even from a distance away. He itched to be the one to teach her how to fight; the closer he was, the more of her intense stare and raw ambition he could feel. Alas, he knew he wouldn't have the patience that Kojuurou had that would help her learn. He could only wait with bated breath for the day she could fight by his side.

The thought of it set a spark within him and spread an unfamiliar warmth that he hadn't felt before. He had a companion, a friend. For some reason, that knowledge made him happier than anything else. Although some questions remain (and some desires remain buried), Masamune was (kind of) content with what he knew now.

After watching for a few more minutes, Masamune turned away, the clenching within his chest becoming overbearing, and left, his heartbeat resounding throughout his body like the footsteps he took.

But they were very much unlike the footsteps he took as a child in the silent hallways.

He wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

A/N: Translations -

_**keta**_ **- routines (can be called 'exercises' in training)**

_**kesa**_ **- a diagonal swing **

_**bokken **_**- wooden sword**

_**kissaki **_**- tip of the blade**

**Bless google and its search engine. **

**I hoped you liked it! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the slow update! School is starting soon so I won't have as much time to write as I should. Thanks for the favorites and follows. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I tried. UvU**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sengoku Basara or any of its characters. I also do not own the cover picture. **

**"Bold" - **Masamune's Engrish (if this wasn't in English)

_Italics -_ emphasis or thoughts

* * *

Even though Aiko was a samurai, she still had obligations as a member of the compound to help in daily chores Most of her work consisted of cleaning, but often the women would let her learn his to cook, which she would always love to do, having her love for food, thus cooking. Also sometimes, Aiko would be sent to do errands outside of the compound.

Once, she delivered a letter to the blacksmith (and got lost, but shh). Another time she got sent out to hunt- she imagined it was Masamune's idea to amuse himself. one task that had become more of a routine deal ever since she was invited to do so was collect items from a checklist for the army. With the four compound guards, they would travel to the town together and finish the chore together. Unlike Masamune, the men treated her with the utmost respect (as a samurai) and the greatest care (as a friend).

For the life of her, Aiko could not understand how these men came to care for her so, but either way she was grateful for their welcoming arms despite not knowing anything about her. Someday, she would tell them her story, but is she relished in their company that reminded her so much of home.

Aiko walked steadily along the dirt path next to the horse and cart as it was pulled. There was a comfortable quiet for a while as Bunshichi led the horse safely past the villagers who bowed slightly in respect. Aiko wiped her brow with the sleeves of her training clothes, having no time to change before the men (jokingly) threatened to ditch her. As if unable to hear the silence, Magobei began to tell a story about something that happened the night before. Samanosuke would comment every now and then and before the story ended, Yoshinao would crack a perverted joke that would make Aiko flush but still break into laughter with the others.

While walking through the farms, Aiko passed by a group of girls who glanced back at her and started to giggle, which was really strange to her. She looked down at her masculine kimono and suddenly felt ashamed; doubts she hadn't realized she had emerged in a barrage. Should she have worn the woman's kimono instead? Did they think she was weird from the way she acted? Just exactly how did she look like from another person's point of view?

Noticing her tensing features, Magobei gave her a grin and a wave of a hand. "Don't worry about them, Miss Aiko! All these women are commonly known as gossipers, but no one could hate you!"

The other men agreed, trying to talk of all the wonderful deeds she had done for them and the army. Most of them were true, but after stories upon stories, Aiko could hear, with immense amusement, some fictional stories of her saving them from a dragon with the use of her fire-bending. Understanding the men's sentiment, she felt grateful once again and laughed at their antics to make sure they knew she was fine. "Thanks, guys," she said, her cheeks hurting from the constant laughter. "What would I do without you?"

"Cleaning," Samanosuke piped in with a wink.

"Training," Bunshichi said, pausing, "_again_."

One of the men riding on the cart, Yoshinao, laughed and slapped his knees in agreement. "True, true! If you don't see Aiko in the compound, she's out on the courtyard!"

Blushing modestly, Aiko replied back the jab, a smile dancing on her lips, "At least I train, unlike you guys!"

"Man... She got us there!" Laughter filled the air, and even the horse riding with them snorted as if agreeing.

With a horse pulling their empty cart through the village, they reached the marketplace soon enough, and seeing that Aiko was a newcomer, they gave her a tour of all the things that were traded amongst other lands and items that were made in Oshuu itself.

"Is that Miss Aiko?"

"It is! It is!" Before the cart could reach its destination, Aiko found herself being surrounded by a crowd of girls, similar to the one she passed by earlier, who were trying to shake her hand, admiration making their eyes sparkle in the midday sun. As they spoke all at once, voices overlapping each other, Aiko could only step back with hands holding them back. Overwhelmed by the barrage, she nervously tried to calm them down.

"Miss Aiko-!"

"-so brave!"

"Is it really true-?"

_"Wait! Wait!"_

Quickly, the babble died out and the girls looked curiously at Aiko who struggled to talk. "I'm not sure what you girls are saying," she explained. "Could you go one at a time?"

"Yes, Miss Aiko," they chorused, surprisingly obedient to her words.

One of the younger girls seemed to take the silence as an opportunity and she piped up with her question. "Is it true you're Lord Date's samurai?"

Quietly surprised by the question, Aiko nodded in confirmation, and the girls broke out in "oooh's," making her feel the excitement ooze from the girls in front of her. The more questions they asked, the less comfortable she became, unsure of what their questions were leading up to.

"How long have you been training?"

"A few months..."

"Ooh! So you learn how to fight and do all that?"

"Yes."

"How did you become his samurai?"

"I-" Aiko paused, thinking this through. Was it appropriate to tell them? Though, if she just told them the truth or part of the story, it would probably be okay. Looking into the girls' eager faces, the female warrior answered, "I was saved by Lord Masamune, so I now serve as his samurai to pay off my debt- sort of." The last part she mumbled was drowned out by the girls' vibrating anticipation as they began to speak together, trying to overlap one another. Although this time, Aiko did hear some coherent sentences.

"Is it scary-?"

"You're really brave, Miss Aiko-!"

Blinking in confusion, Aiko calmed them down again and asked back, "What do you mean that I'm brave?"

The youngest girl chirped up an answer as if it was obvious. "No woman's ever been in the army by Lord Date's side before, so that's really amazing! And also," she continued, "you're doing what is right and what you want to do, which is really brave of you!"

It was brave of her to do what she pleased? And then Aiko realized, as she observed the farmer's clothes and the babies on some of the women's hips, these ladies were the common women in Oshuu. It irked Aiko that she was considered abnormal, and thus brave.

As if recognizing her uncomfortable expression, one of the older women said kindly, "It isn't just your willingness to follow your heart that makes you brave, but also your loyalty to our lord in the midst of danger. After all, you'll have to protect him during battle, am I right?"

Without a single pause, Aiko nodded calmly. "Yes."

Smiling endearingly already, the young mother continued, "I believe you'll be the one thing the army needs most. Call me a fool, but I think they need a lady's touch." She winked. "You'll be by their side, caring for them, but you'll have earned their respect by fighting with them."

The older lady smiled as the other girls silently looked up in admiration, happy to be able to convince that the female samurai had nothing to be ashamed of. Suddenly a loud, woman's voice rang out, calling the group of girls back to where they came from. Immediately, the girls began to run back after giving her a respectful bow, waving her goodbye even as they sprinted at their top speed back to the farms.

Aiko chuckled and felt comforted by the sincerely encouraging women who welcomed her as a samurai. Though she had been worried, it seemed that she had nothing to worry about anymore. If the ladies believed she could become the one thing the army needed most, then she could become that.

The landlord who had called them back tsked in impatience and walked toward the direction she had called them back to, giving Aiko only a single glance. She bowed to the landlord politely onto to earn a derisive snort in return. Before Aiko could have time to feel offended she heard the landlady mutter under her breath, "How a selfish whelp like you could gain the respect of the ladies in town with your lack of common sense is a mystery to me. You'll be the end of the Date Army."

If this was at another time, if she was just insulting her and only her, Aiko would've kept quiet and let the lady run her mouth. But to accuse her of being the downfall of the Date Army, to accuse her of being less than fit to serve her lord caused a flare of anger to emerge.

"With all due respect ma'am," she said coolly, "I am a samurai that will protect my lord with all her power. If that doesn't give me or my family any honor, I don't know what will. And I swore on that day to serve Lord Masamune with all my being, and I'm doing exactly that."

Aiko only looked long enough to see the landlord's stunned expression before she turned around, a little surprised at her sudden burst of cool rage, but even more so at the fact she felt no regret over snapping at the landlady. After all, what she said was the truth. She was going to be what the army needed most, and even if she wasn't now, she'd work hard to become exactly that.

She owed that group of women that at least.

After gathering the items back into the cart, Aiko sat on the cart as the horse pulled it toward the compound. Now, what did her lord want her to do when she got back?

Oh, right.

Horseback riding- Aiko smiled. She couldn't wait!

* * *

Aiko loved animals.

Cats were cute. Dogs were adorable. Squirrels- don't even get her started on them. Bears were cool to look at (from afar). Birds were a sight to behold. And, certainly, if there were the possibility of meeting dragons, Aiko would definitely fall in love with them at first sight with their fierce eyes, crystalised scales, and majestic wings.

Now horses- horses were something warriors _always_ rode on in battle; there was really nothing else you could ride (aside from Vietnamese elephants and the occasional Thailand tiger). Thus, Aiko had always wanted to learn how to ride a horse, and she continued to want to do so even after she worked in the barn scooping manure for the whole day.

It was a shame the _beautiful, elegant, ebony_ horse she rode on had the personality of Masamune Date.

"G-go, uh, f- forward!" Aiko stuttered, her voice's volume fluctuating in uncertainty. She continued to squeal even further when, instead of going forward like she asked, the horse amazingly began to trot backwards. (Of all things.)

Shrieking in panic at the lack of control, Aiko pulled at her reins while looking fearfully back. "I said forward-! No! No! _Nonononononono-!" _

All through the screaming, the horse merely neighed continuously as if it was laughing at the foolish girl that was trying to ride it.

Meanwhile, Kojuurou stiffly stared at Aiko as she screamed her head off, his fingers twitching as he felt the immense urge to tug upon the reins and go help the girl. He leered at his lord who rode on his horse casually with his hands crossed and his lips stretched into a wide grin. Masamune whistled and then spoke, failing to mask the amusement that he partook in seeing Aiko act… well, like a girl.

After a few minutes of non-stop shrill yells, Kojuurou closed his eyes and asked as calmly as he could, "...Are you going to help her any time soon, Lord Masamune? Like you said you would... _insistently_." He opened his eyes and stared at Masamune patronizingly, hoping he would get the message by now.

Distractedly, Masamune responded, "Hm? Yeah. Of course." There was a pause, and for a moment Kojuurou actually thought he was going to help the female samurai.

Instead, Masamune took upon himself to approach Aiko to yell out, with laughter mixed in, "Calm down, Aiko… _It sensesfear_!"

"_Why doesn't it like meeeeeeeeeeee-?"_

Unable to resist the urge to slam his face into his hands, Kojuurou did so as he heard the high-pitched screeches, the laughing neighs, and the amused but unhelpful voice of the One Eyed Dragon.

His lord never failed to surprise him.

(Even as Masamune stops teasing Aiko and helps her, or even after Aiko forgives him again and again as they laugh, Kojuurou can only sigh.)

* * *

It was almost the end of summer and the weather was getting cooler and cooler by the day. The sun was slowly setting and rising earlier, but that didn't stop Masamune or Kojuurou from training Aiko the same amount of time, if not more. By the time they finished, the female samurai had to also do her compound duties, helping out in the kitchen, harvesting the garden, and cleaning the halls all in the light of dusk.

After she had a soak in the bath, she went for a walk, enjoying the night air on her skin when she saw Masamune and Kojuurou sitting in a room. Before she could pass them completely, she saw Masamune wave her in once and already she was in the room, kneeling down next to them.

"Come on, Aiko," Masamune said, pointing toward the seat across from the chess board in front of him, "you'll be staying for a while so sit comfortably."

"Err- okay," she responded awkwardly, unused to seeing Masamune or Kojuurou after training hours and in a casual yukata. Aiko settled in the seat, glanced toward the retainer inquisitively, and waited for his answer.

Ignoring Masamune's mischievous smile that Aiko couldn't recognize, Kojuurou cleared his throat and began to explain the reason for her presence so late at night. It didn't take long for Aiko to nod in understanding and then tilt her head curiously.

"...Shogi… That's… Japanese Chess, right?"

Nodding in affirmation, the "Right Eye" continued, "It's a great method in learning some strategy in battle. It's quite a good plan… but I'm rather surprised that Lord Masamune came up with this idea in the first place." He gave his lord a glance as if telling him to behave himself, but Masamune seemingly waved it off and brushed off the insult that came with his words.

"**Ha! **I do come up with some good ideas once in a while, Kojuurou," Masamune said pointedly, looking back at his retainer.

While the two of them spoke without any exchange of words (by this time Aiko was used to such amazing communication in this relationship), Aiko scanned the board and picked up a piece, examining the kanji written on it and wondered if it was similar to chess at home.

"Lord Masamune-"

"Alright then," Masamune said loudly, purposely drowning out his retainer's rather patronizing tone. He placed himself right in front of the board as Aiko placed down the pieces in their proper places, excited to learn how to play with Masamune as her teacher.

"Okay, so what do I-"

"It's about time I bet someone besides Kojuurou in this game."

.

.

.

"..._What_," Aiko deadpanned, feeling incredulous. "Aren't you going to… teach me?"

Masamune blinked in faux-innocence, but then couldn't hide the mischievous smile (oh so that's why he was smiling) that appeared once again. "I never said that, did I?" Laughing inwardly at the stunned silence, Masamune casually set up the board, making sure each piece was in order. Despite his calm outlook, the One Eyed Dragon couldn't help but feel extremely light when talking to Aiko. Every word exchanged with her felt like a summer breeze, and every reaction he got from her made him feel like he was on Cloud Nine. And whenever he saw that fire in her eyes… He didn't think he'd get addicted to that look. To think she would affect her to this extent was unspeakable, but it wasn't like he didn't enjoy feeling this way.

"...My lord…" Kojuurou breathed out, staring at his lord like he had grown another head for the fifth time. In Masamune's perspective, it looked like he was resisting the urge to facepalm.

"...By the way," Masamune drawled, "if you make an illegal move, I automatically win, so I guess you better learn what each piece does and fast~!" He grinned and waited for the explosion that was to come, but was surprised when Aiko began to giggle instead. He could only stare at her, perplexed, wondering where he went wrong on the plan to piss her off.

To be honest, Masamune's childish actions did annoy her, but was it bad that she thought it was cute seeing him like this? Of all people who would fool her like this, Masamune's mischievous smile was the only thing that made her heart skip a beat. "Oh gosh, I hate you," Aiko spoke casually without bite or sincerity. Her face held a soft smile as she looked upon Masamune who knew she was kidding (because really, could she even hate a person over small things like these?) and was smiling so wide it reached his eyes as a glimmer.

Sighing at his failed plan (but had it really failed?), Masamune placed his hand on both of his knees, looking into the female samurai's eyes, for the first time, not willing away the warmth that began to spread in his chest. "Unfortunately," he said factually, "I'm afraid that sentiment isn't going to help you any." He gave her smirk. "You want to try beating me?"

With a sudden excitement that almost took her breath away, Aiko returned that smirk, her poise completely relaxed with the people she now called her family.

"Why not?"

* * *

An arrow landed three rings from the middle of the target, and another landed one ring above. Grunting lightly in effort, Aiko pulled the arrow back onnthe string hard with her right hand, her left hand becoming the guide that let her shoot well. With the straight aim, her arrow flew smoothly, not getting much friction from incorrect use or brushes, and landed even closer to the bulls-eye. Smiling in pride, Aiko glanced toward Kojuurou and beamed even brighter at his nod of approval.

Aiko picked up her bow again and aimed, only to be jolted from her concentration at Masamune's sudden voice at her right ear. The arrow flew off the target and she winced, hoping it didn't hit anything. She spun around and glared at the warlord who grinned, not denying his mischievous purpose of causing her trouble.

"You missed," he said in a factual tone, leaning forward and staring at her in mock-disappointment.

Of all the things... She growled inwardly, her mood dampening at the thought of just when she finally seemed good at something-! Irritation building inside of her at her ruined moment, Aiko snapped back sarcastically, "I wonder why."

Smirking at his blatant success in annoying her, Masamune continued to speak, hoping that her irritation would spark a little more heat into her.

"Same here. Maybe it's 'cause you suck?"

Refusing to rise to the bait any further, Aiko merely made a face at Masamune and returned back to shooting her bow and arrow. With her anger, she tightly gripped the bow and carelessly released her arrow without much aim…

And it lands right in the middle of the target.

"What the heck-?" Aiko blurted out before she could stop herself. How did she do that?

She felt an arm on her shoulder and she turned toward Masamune, whom she no longer bore any annoyance (like always) to, who was smiling. Approvingly, he nodded and ruffled her hair lightly, giving her a higher feeling than she felt when she got that first arrow in the target.

"Good job, Miss Samurai," he said. "You have a natural talent for this, so don't think too much about it, alright?"

Aiko blinked. "Oh," she responded, unsure on how to respond to the change in Masamune's attitude from unforgiving to encouraging. "Okay then."

Masamune, seeing her confused expression, snorted in amusement and patted her shoulder. "You got the hang of it."

Recovering from her bout of surprise, Aiko gave a small laugh and grinned. "Of course! I have to be awesome at something, right?"

"_Riiiiight._"

"Okay, what was _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Sure..."

Masamune stared at Aiko silently after her distracted response, recognizing her intense gaze at the target as her moments of focus. When she released the arrow, he felt time slow down to let him take in all that she was: tired (sweat), determined (eyes), _beautiful_. But maybe that only happened because she suddenly took his breath away.

She was absolutely stunning.

Masamune cleared his throat and continued to look at the target instead, the arrows beginning to fill every inch of it. It was a while until anyone said anything, the arrows making contact with the target conjuring any of the noise at all. As if bored, Masamune piped up once more.

"...You want to learn how to shoot and ride a horse at the same-?"

"_**No**_."

Masamune's suggestion was immediately shot down with a collective deadpan from Kojuuoru and Aiko. They shared a look, as Masamune tried to reason with them, and sighed.

* * *

Autumn swung by quickly, littering the streets with colorful leaves that had been blown off from trees in the courtyard. In retrospect, the courtyard itself was quite tidy, having been swept every day to allow Aiko to train. Though it had been only two months (give or take), the female samurai was proud of what she had learned in the short time period, be it little or large. Small victories made her a warrior, and that was all that mattered; and no matter how much work was needed, she knew she would do everything in her power to succeed.

If enduring months of being beaten left and right by her lord was required, Aiko would do it. If it would take her what she thought was forever to even get a single hit on him... She'd do it. She desperately wanted to do it.

Letting out a short cry after being disarmed once again, Aiko fell back on her bottom and glared at Masamune who was, in her opinion, looking a little too smug at defeating a novice like her. He tapped his shoulders with his wooden sword as he looked down at her, grinning at her from his vantage point.

"**Ha**! Is that really all you got, Miss Samurai?" He sneered, making Aiko purse her lips in annoyance and crawl away to grab her sword that was a few feet away. She huffed and stood up, trying to calm down, only to feel her anger flare again when she heard him taunt her.

"No," Aiko said coolly, holding up her bokken, "I'm not done yet."

Masamune smirked and waved a hand for her to start as she lurched forward and attacked with all she had again and again and again; each time, she tried different tactics she had either just learned or picked up from the person she was fighting with. In a way, she was a skilled learner, according to Kojuurou, but for Masamune, it seemed that it was never good enough.

The One Eyed Dragon let out a low chuckle as he managed to hit Aiko squarely on the side, having seen the opportunity to watch her as she struggled (which was undeniably cute to him for some reason, but shh). She growled at him, to his own delight, and got up again.

Sometimes, like now, Aiko wondered if he knew what he did to her. A single word could have her bouncing from wall to wall (mentally) or have her ripping her hair out (metaphorically, of course). A smile could make her head float; a laugh could make her melt. Masamune had a dangerously powerful influence on her, but it didn't seem like he understood that as clearly as he should. Although his constant mockery (joking as they may be) more often than not caused her annoyance, the anger only came because she couldn't believe how ignorant he was to her hurt feelings. After all, a person can only handle so many jabs until they blow up in some way.

When Aiko faced her lord again in battle, the emotion that ruled over her actions after Masamune's comments was desperation: if she couldn't manage to get a good fight in this duel, she wouldn't know what to do with herself anymore. Thus, without much thought, Aiko waved her sword not at any particular place and suddenly feigned surprise as she pointed behind Masamune and yelled, "Oh my god! Look!" as if hoping blindly that her plan would work.

She used _the_ oldest trick in the book.

You know, the realization dawning to her at the blank expressions on both of the dragon's, maybe there's a reason why it's the oldest, thus no-longer-used, trick.

"...Aiko."

It was obvious that Kojuurou and Masamune were trying to keep their faces straight, but if she looked closer, she could see Masamune tremble slightly in effort and Kojuuoru shuffle in place. As the hot red of embarrassment started to creep up from her neck, Aiko tried to squeak out an excuse, but her voice only got so far until-

"...Did you just-"

Masamune let out a snicker and, for once, tried to hide his laughter (failing miserably) behind his fist.

And Aiko's face went bright red.

For a while, all she could do was stand awkwardly with her two hands clasped together in embarrassment as she heard the muffled but hysterical laughter. Kojuurou, she saw, was turned around, undoubtedly laughing at her, but at least he had the decency to hide it well.

_Unlike this guy._

"..Lord Masamune..."

Aiko bit out stiffly, extremely uncomfortable in her situation and completely regretting a plan that sounded great in her head for five seconds. But as she continued to hear Masamune's joyous laughter, even at her expense, she couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly and allow him to continue to do so. A pout formed on her lips, but she was less angry, less annoyed because at least her lord was the happiest he's ever been since she saw him.

Crossing her arms, she huffed, "It wasn't my best idea, but you don't have to laugh so much."

At her coherent words, Masamune seemed to sober up a little and slow down enough to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes and look at Aiko with crinkled eyes and a seemingly permanent smile.

She kind of wanted to punch herself at the fact her heart skipped a best in joy at the thought that she was the one that made him look like this.

"Right," he said, amusement still in his tone, "not the best idea, but... you tried." He ruffled her hair in a display of endearment and turned around, announcing that he was done for the day.

And all Aiko could do was agree with his statement. No matter what, she would forgive him.

Aiko groaned and laid out on the courtyard despite Kojuurou's amused smile. Even with all that said and done, she still had a lot of things to do to become a true samurai; even if she had to go on this emotional roller coaster, she'd do it.

Over and over again.

* * *

When Kojuurou had said "this is all for today" Aiko almost collapsed right on the spot. Instead, she sighed in relief and wobbled a bit before she walked toward the wooden stairs and plopped herself down. One hour of getting beat up by Masamune (though she was getting better), one hour of training solitarily, and then one hour of getting beat up by Kojuurou, but he actually helped her avoid making mistakes again, unlike the former. If it wasn't her open stances, it was her lack of aggressive movements to strike back. Surely, but gradually, she was getting there.

All her hard work would pay off, she could feel it.

Kojuurou passed by her as he stepped up the stairs to the compound and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see his encouraging smile, but it passed by as quickly as it came, Kojuurou leaving her to tend to his garden.

She did a good job, did she? Aiko couldn't help but feel content and close her eyes, leaning back on the taller steps. With these fast improvements, she could now see a glimpse of hope in returning home. Although Masamune had promised before, she wasn't really sure if she could actually go home during this time of war. But now, with her new strengths and the two dragon's combined, she could clearly see the way to home, wherever that may be. If she had a home, someone was looking for her, and they would know.

And yet, despite these hopes, Aiko could feel a glimpse of regret in leaving everything she had in Oshuu behind. Her new friends, her new town, her new family, her...

.

.

.

Masamune.

She would regret leaving him the most.

Aiko opened the eyes and stared at the sky that was beginning to be filled with clouds, wondering if she really wanted to get home in the first place.

* * *

It had been raining the whole day. Everyone was trapped inside, but they were all as busy as usual. Aiko walked quickly through the open halls having just finished bringing the laundry in before it got wet and glanced longingly at the courtyard that was currently being bombarded by the rain shower. Now that her work was done, she itched to train and become distracted once again. If not then…

_I wonder if I'm doing the right thing-_

Grunting in frustration, Aiko shook her head and gripped her hands into tight fists; she shouldn't be thinking like that, not when she needed to be confident in her decisions, confident in her loyalty to Lord Masamune. Taking a deep breath and releasing it shakily, she swept her hair up and held her head, trying to think positively. Upon opening her eyes, she saw that it had stopped raining and immediately grabbed a hold of her sword and ran out onto the courtyard, eager to move.

Her sandals slid slightly on the wet pavement every time she moved, splashing up water from those tiny puddles of water. Despite the weather, Aiko loved the cloudy afternoon when it was cool and calm, which was strangely the opposite of what she felt.

Inside, she had a burning need to prove everyone, to fight, to be better. And just when she thought that swinging her sword around would calm herself, she spotted Masamune under the roof of the compound, beginning to move toward her with his own sword.

Holding her sword down, Aiko took a deep breath before turning toward her lord and addressing him. "Lord Masamune," she spoke, "why are you out here?"

Shrugging, Masamune answered back, "Well, like you, I wanted to go swing my sword around. But since we're both here..." He walked away from Aiko and spun around, lifting his sword toward her. He flashed her a wide grin. "...Why don't we have a match for old times sake?"

Giving him her own smile, Aiko prepared to fight, her two hands gripping her sword as her throat tightened in anticipation. "Alright, then," she said, pursing her lips, eyes ablaze.

"Let's do it."

Settling back into attack position, Masamune narrowed his eye and smirked. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear..."

.

.

.

.

Just before they started, there was this one pause of silence, one pause of held breath, one pause for eye contact that made Masamune see the flaming fire deep within the girl's smoldering eyes and take his breath away. Time seemed to slow down as he breathed out, focusing in on the girl in front of her who was no doubt doing the same.

That pause was but only for a moment.

Grunting slightly and knowing she would never be able to spot any weaknesses on Masamune's guarded front, Aiko pushed forward with quick steps, though she never intended to be the one to land the first strike. Grinning freely at this seemingly aggressive and thoughtless move, Masamune swiped down one of his six swords to meet Aiko's at his right, only to hit at nothing. She had, in anticipation for her lord's attack, quickly leaped to the side in hopes of catching him off-guard. Determined to prove her worth, Aiko yelled a battle cry and went for her lord immediately after side-stepping, but was met with his sword.

"Heh, that was pretty impressive," Masamune said, grinning ferociously, staring into Aiko's focused eyes. He stepped forward, pushing Aiko and making her slide her feet back. "But you'll have to do better than that!"

"That's what I was planning to do!" Aiko spat back, eyes flashing in determination, and swiftly ducked under Masamune's katana and tried to attack him from below.

Masamune jumped back, still grinning with the adrenaline kicking in to make his blood pump faster. Relentlessly, Aiko followed after her lord, a burning sensation from within threatening to overwhelm her; she grunted, pulling the sword from her left to slash the space that was supposed to be Masamune. Again and again, she tried to get a hit on him but was either side-stepped or parried. However, it didn't deter Aiko from raining attacks on the defending swordsman as she felt the high of having her mind completely focusing on the man she swore her life for.

Sliding on the wet pavement, Aiko took a deep breath before pressing just as fiercely as before. Yet despite the slight trouble Masamune had in keeping track of her movements, he still let his mind wander. _When had she grown?_ He mused, flickering his eyesight over her lean and strong arms and lithe movements she had developed in record time kept his undivided attention. Her elegance with the sword surprised him no matter how many times he saw it. Every time she maneuvered with such agility and skill, Masamune could feel pride… and a fire from deep within burn hotter.

Finally striking the girl's sword back, causing her to leap back, Masamune jumped further away from the girl, grinning wider than before. Going into an aggressive stance, Masamune sent a feral growl to Aiko, "Come on, Aiko! **Go crazy**_!"_

Those words only spurred Aiko to do exactly that. A pulse resounded from her body. The flames from within traveled from her chest to her hands and emerged as a real fire that engulfed her sword. Using pure instinct, Aiko dragged her sword on the ground as she ran toward Masamune, creating an enormous amount of sparks before lifting it from the ground and summoning her power to release a wave of flame, which resembled the wing of a bird, toward her target. "_**Wings of Flame**_!"

Surprised, Masamune dodged it by ducking to the side, the flames missing his hair by a mere strand. He whistled, impressed at the show of elemental power. "Well," he huffed, showing his trademark smirk, "I guess I'll have to take you a _little_ more seriously."

Realizing his next action, Aiko sprinted toward her opponent to take another hit at him with her fire-imbued sword, but it was unsuccessful. Masamune leaped up, spreading his arms to call forth all of his six swords and then bore all his fangs toward Aiko. Electricity crackled around his sword, giving Masamune exhilaration that pumped even more adrenaline to his blood. He could feel it course under his skin and chest and _everywhere_ when he looked with his good eye the non-existent fear and complete determination that the female samurai showed.

She was better than he could have ever imagined.

"**Are you ready**?" He shouted, grinning ferociously at the girl before him, excitement filling him as he saw her further grip her sword and prepared to fight. And it gave him pride when he saw her move for him first.

"_**Fire Roulette!"**_

"_**Death Fang!"**_

Aiko ran toward Masamune and then turned sharply, spinning a 180° while pulling her sword at a quick rate to create a flaming half-circle, which was made immediately after her lord used his three swords to inflict his own attack. And truly, going against the One Eyed Dragon full force was taxing and dangerous. Leaping away from Masamune's range, Aiko had hoped to be able to take a breather and gauge her state, but Masamune, especially with all his swords, began the aggressive, attack relentlessly as she had. Though, with Aiko and her one sword, she could barely react fast enough to block all of them fully. Jumping up backwards, Aiko released a few birds of fire down at Masamune.

"_**Phoenix Wave**_!"

"_**War Dance!"**_

Unable to stop grinning since the battle started, Masamune merely enacted his quick moves to slice down the birds and onwards. Immediately after Aiko landed on her feet, she was suddenly in a showdown with Masamune. His six swords and her one sword locked in one position, but it didn't stay in one place for long. Aiko began to be pushed backward, and seeing the chance, Masamune ripped his six swords, pushing Aiko back and to the ground with her sword flying up and landing in the wet ground too far for Aiko to reach. Both breathing deeply (one from exhaustion, one from anticipation), it took them two minutes in the courtyard to be aware of the battle's outcome rather than in each other.

Aiko had lost.

She hung her head and sighed, scraping her nails on the wet pavement. She had hoped to at least prolong the battle a little longer with her new-found strength, but it was all for naught. Aiko glanced up at Masamune who was extending a hand toward her. Smiling gratefully, she took his hand and he pulled her up with one swoop. Unable to say anything at the heat of the moment, Masamune simply stared at Aiko, the anticipation still there for her further improvement, and then grinned. He ruffled her disheveled hair and told her, "Nice work, Miss Samurai."

With his six swords by his side, Masamune slowly walked away, basking in the afterglow of battle and pride of the girl he personally trained with his heart and soul. "**Keep it up**!" He said, and left Aiko in the courtyard alone once again.

"...Haha..."

As the adrenaline left her body, Aiko could feel her every fiber tremble from exhaustion and the sheer intensity that the battle had. Passion, excitement, anticipation, pride: these were all reflected clearly in the One Eyed Dragon's eye. Collapsing onto her knees, Aiko breathed heavily, gripping at the outside of her shirt.

Underneath these feelings of battle and friendship, there was always the underlying, unidentifiable emotion that had been there since she met him.

And now, it was stronger and, albeit, identifiable.

Then, she thought, _she_ was stronger too. Before she realized it, she had become the warrior she had always wanted to be. It was because of Masamune; and she hoped Masamune knew it too.

Aiko could feel a light feeling push her spirits up and get rid her of her exhaustion. She wasn't sure if it was the high after the fight, but at that moment in time, she had never felt so in love with Masamune Date.

She began to laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I enjoyed writing this chapter, as I did with the other ones, but you know. The drama starts! Or rather, it continues to. **

**Again, I hope I'm not writing anyone out of character- I'm trying to delve deeper into these characters and expanding their characteristics beyond what everyone define them as. We usually see Masamune as cocky, cool, and, well, in the third game, hot-tempered and prideful. But what about his home life? Is he childish? Is he playful? Or is he cool like any other time? Kojuurou is the same. Asides from loyalty, he has patience, wisdom, and that sorta motherly figure considering the fact he's the one to train, babysit, and take care of lil' Bontenmaru. **

**Err- so I guess what I'm trying to say is, this is my depiction of Sengoku Basara characters and I hope it's realistic (as it can be).**

**Without further ado, I wanna thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter and begin! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sengoku Basara or the cover for my story in any way.**

* * *

It was the brink of winter as the cool wind became biting and the moist ground froze over: a tell-tale sign that the season was changing. Although the air was cold enough to see a person's breath, it was not yet enough to bring what could have been Aiko's first snowfall at Oshuu.

It had only been six months since she first arrived here, but sometimes she felt as if she'd stayed here for years. Aiko went about at a regular routine; she woke up to good mornings and went to sleep with good nights. It took her only a few weeks until she found out that her name came from one of the kindly nurses, who had fretted over her gratitude for coming up with such a name. The women were sweet, but as sweet as they were, they were almost as tough as the men. After all, hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.

It was proven to her when the men had snuck into the kitchen in hopes of grabbing some early dinner, only to be chased out with pans and knives. After all, these women were used to the unorthodox methods at Masamune's compound, and if they weren't used to it, they would be soon enough— like her. Unlike others, they had a will of steel. These women had men who went to war; and many of them had died on the battlefield. If it was not a strong woman who could stand strong even without her husband, then Aiko didn't know what strength was. In ways, she looked up to them as they did to her.

Within the compound, there were more people as the age increased. The older women and men who worked in or near the compound adored her, some of them muttering that she was so much cuter than their own child. Aiko could see where they were coming from, but she thought their children (or any child really) were a delight. There weren't many servants that brought their kids to the compound, but the few that came made up for their lack of numbers.

Perhaps she was a little biased, having no siblings, but even though little Kimaru and Yuchiko were rowdy to the point some people were bound to pop their veins in annoyance, Aiko saw to it that she became their older sister and loved them to bits. In many ways, this unfamiliar and unconditional kindness toward their mischievous attitude scared them a little.

Their mothers called her a saint, but realistically she thought herself as more lonely than anything else, especially since there were only five people that were around her age, and she had spoken to only three of them (not counting Masamune since he was technically five years older than her).

Toshiro had spoken to her once about the drills of that day before he had left for patrol, and Hokaku spent most of one week talking to her about his family and his friends in the army before he too was sent off to camp elsewhere. They were nineteen and twenty respectively, a few years older than her, but they were of closest age to her asides from Yuki.

Yuki was a spontaneous, outgoing girl who was seventeen like her, but she had left not too long ago to marry a man outside the compound. She had been a lovely friend to Aiko, more than she could ever wish for. She was the one force the young samurai to sit and relax; if she hadn't, Aiko would have driven herself to death trying to please everyone left and right.

"You're too nice," Yuki had said patronizingly, hand on her hip after she served Aiko a cup of tea. "You're going to kill yourself trying to help everyone but yourself."

If it weren't for her, Aiko thought, maybe she wouldn't have survived at the compound as long as she had. That was why, with bittersweetness and gratitude, she waved her friend goodbye as she left Aiko to marry the man of her dreams.

And then she was alone.

That was a month before the last day of November, so she was fine on her own, kind of.

Soon enough, autumn rolled by in a blink. Aiko could hear the crescendo of horns, the faster beat of the war drums. Masamune announced one dinner two weeks ago that their journey to conquer Japan would begin in a month. Her heart skipped in something akin to fear when he glanced at her for a moment and looked away smirking.

She had gotten the message though.

It was time for her to fight.

And maybe that was when it all went downhill.

* * *

As the compound got busier for the upcoming monthly banquet, Aiko could feel her anxiety grow even as she worked for hours on end to help the servants with their daily duties. The more prepared the compound looked, the more apprehensive she became as she knew that within the next banquet or so, she'd be one of many to be sent off to war.

It'd be the start of her journey to find home, but she was far from feeling ready.

As a former tennis player, Aiko should have known that after her period of tremendous growth, she would reach the infamous plateau. She had been improving so quickly, learning new skills everyday and almost perfecting them through months of training.

Then one day, it was as if she started to forget.

The strangely bitter December gust roughly swept through the courtyard, almost throwing Aiko off her balance as she practiced, for the sixth time, a swing that was a little off. Grunting in frustration, Aiko threw her arms in the air and hazardously waved the sword, trying to get rid of the kink in her arm she thought she had. Desperately trying to push off the oncoming urge to panic, Aiko took a deep breath and prepared to perform more routines- as many as it took until she became better.

Still, the lingering feeling of apprehension made her breaths shallow and her legs frozen. Again, even after trying her best to perform as she did last week, Aiko still felt that her strokes were far below par, and she became disheartened once again. She gave up on focusing and stared at the sword in her hand like it was a curse.

If she kept on going down this road, what was she going to do? Her sudden decline in skill couldn't be anyone's fault but hers. Her throat stricken at the thought of talking to Masamune about delaying her departure and then seeing his disappointed stare.

She couldn't handle it. She wouldn't be able to handle having the one person she cared the most to look at her as if she failed him for the last time. That was why she just _had_ to improve or else-

"I was wondering where you were."

Aiko jerked her head up to see the One Eyed Dragon giving her that feral grin once again, casually putting his sword on his shoulders as he approached her. And as an automatic response, she took a step back in fear, though it was too small for Masamune's one eye to notice.

"L- Lord Masamune..." Aiko stuttered, her voice dying before she could relay the thoughts that plagued her. She couldn't think of a way to put it delicately, and the thought of his reaction put raw fear into her. She stood there miserably mute.

As if she was in his blind spot, Masamune didn't notice her discomfort and glanced around the vacant courtyard. "It's not as warm as that rainy day," he started, his breath becoming visible as a white mist, "but hey, if we start sparring now we'll be pumping sweat in no time!" Then he spun around to face Aiko with full intent to charge her in the next moment, so she quickly let out a sound that bizarrely sounded like a strangled cat and scared chicken at the same time, which startled the both of them to stop.

"Err- wait!" She stuttered, her mind racing for an excuse she could probably tell him. "I, uh, I just remembered that I needed to go help the others with... banquet stuff, so I need to go..." As she spoke, Aiko began to slowly inch away from Masamune who stared at her with a look of confusion.

She wanted to say so many things, her feelings almost making her blurt out the unadulterated, rambled truth to Masamune because she almost couldn't handle hiding away from him as much as his reaction to her disappointments. However, the key word within all that was "almost." It was like she almost said everything out loud.

_(The reason why I don't want to fight you is because despite all my hard work and all of your teachings, I'm still failing and I don't know why and I want to cry, cry, cry- and I don't want to see your face when you see me lose everything that you thought you saw in me and loved me for it- I see it in your eyes and I love you when you see it, but not when I'm like this-_

_I can't stand you hating me-)_

"What are you-?" He began, but he was interrupted by her rushed "Yeah, sorry, got to go, bye-!" And he was suddenly left in the empty courtyard, a lonely wind blowing past him. With only Aiko's abandoned sword and himself in the courtyard, Masamune took his time to process what had happened.

Did she just... avoid him?

Despite the rather concerned question, the One Eyed Dragon merely shrugged, figuring it was just her time of the month or something like that; this was especially since Aiko was someone who could also stand back up no matter what happened, so he had no worries. Absolutely none.

Masamune casually let his sword sheath and he stretched, a sudden fatigue taking over him. The cold was becoming unbearable with only his one-layer kimono, and without a girl like Aiko to fire him up, he was left with nothing. Even so, there was that nagging voice in the back of his head (that strangely sounded like Kojuurou) that told something was very, very wrong.

* * *

Even though the village streets were silent, all Aiko could hear was the jumble of thoughts that wouldn't shut up. She _knew_ that she wouldn't be able to run from Masamune forever. She _knew_ that she would have to tell him about her sudden inability to fight. Even if she knew she had to face him sooner or later, it didn't make it any easier to do so.

Aiko didn't have an exact script on what she was going to say to her lord. On one hand, she can imagine him understanding her; perhaps he was like her when he was younger? But knowing the way he looked at her with such expectations, she felt that no, he wouldn't get it when he wanted so much more than she could give. One thing she knew, too, was the fact that this disappointment would hurt him as much as her.

She knew that if she couldn't pick herself up, she wouldn't be able to have the confidence to do anything else. This would destroy her, and this scared her more than she could say.

What would the ladies from the village tell her? Did they have problems like her? Aiko doubted it, having an occupation that was far different from a regular women's. In many ways, this was hard; she had no one to ask for help or could empathize the way she was- a woman warrior. If there were others in the country, which she knew there were, she could only hope someone could drop by and help. That was a farfetched dream though. And besides, even if she needed help, she wasn't sure if she could ask.

It was strange how she didn't have a problem before, but with her pride as the only prized woman warrior of both Masamune and the villagers, she couldn't let that image be sullied. Even if that was probably stupid and a little prideful, Aiko couldn't help but feel that way in this situation. It was either that or Masamune rubbed off on her. If it did, she knew now what a heavy burden a reputation presented to the bearer.

Aiko gripped the planks of the cart she was riding hard enough her knuckles turned white and bowed her head sullenly. Throughout this movement, the four guardsmen who often traveled with her on trips to the city gave each other a glance.

"Uh... Miss Aiko?" Bunshichi began hesitantly, "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Aiko looked up and gave them a vacant smile that didn't reach her eyes the way it usually did. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, "why?"

"Oh, n- nothing!" Samanosuke laughed nervously, a little more than concerned about the female warrior they had all had grown accustomed to. When Aiko went back to looking at the ground, the four men shared a look and Yoshinao nodded determinedly, hoping to find the help she needed by telling Lord Kojuurou. She was the ray of sunshine in their monotonous life, and they'd be damned to see it fade when they were all there to help her.

* * *

Almost immediately after they arrived home and carried the supplies in, the four guardsmen hurriedly excused themselves, hoping they didn't look suspicious. They almost bumped into people when they started to sprint down the halls, and only skidded to a stop when they reached Lord Masamune's quarters. The two silhouettes in the room paused their quiet conversation as the men kneeled down in respect.

"Boss! Sir Katakura!" exclaimed Magobei. "We need to speak to you about something!"

There was a moment of stillness before they could see Sir Katakura bow his head slightly and then give his lord a look. He asked, "What's the matter?"

"It's, err-"

"It's Miss Aiko, sir!" Yoshinao exclaimed, leaning forward unconsciously, desperate to help their female friend. "She's been acting real strange lately, and the men and I have been worried to death!"

There was a slight shuffle from Kojuurou's right as the warlord shifted his position. Although it would have been nothing to others, the Right Eye could see that Masamune was perturbed by these news. "What do you mean by strange?" Kojuurou pressed, and the answers came rapidly.

"She's too tense, sir-!"

"It's like she's holding something like a great burden...?"

"She's just not herself..."

The men trailed off after their blurred explanations, staring with great hope at the sliding door that their problems would be answered.

Calmly, Kojuurou nodded and gave another glance at his lord who was looking away. "I see," he said, his careful eyes never leaving Masamune's figure. "Thank you for informing me this. You are excused."

"Yes, sir!"

They responded in a jumble of voices before scrambling away, their footsteps disappearing into the distance before Kojuurou spoke up into the silence. "My lord," the retainer asked slowly, "were you aware of Aiko's... predicament?"

"'Aware'... Well..." Masamune heaved a sigh as he rolled his neck, suddenly feeling tired, as he has often been ever since he last saw Aiko. He gave a small snort and then replied dryly, "I wouldn't go to say I knew what was wrong, but _something_ was off."

He shifted in his sitting position and rolled his shoulder, stiff from disuse; he hadn't tried to spar since Aiko rejected him. Well, again, it wasn't exactly 'reject,' he thought, but it was something like that.

Masamune felt hesitant to actually train now that he knew there was no reason to if he couldn't witness Aiko's progress or the gleam in her eye when she came up with an idea to trounce him. The only reason why Kojuurou hadn't been nagging him to take a few swings was because he was willing to go out.

Because Aiko was with him- and that spoke volumes he couldn't describe.

To Masamune, despite Kojuurou having one of the best poker face he'd ever seen, the retainer's changing expressions, though microscopic, were recognizable. The warlord, having his retainer by his side even in his childhood, understood Kojuurou as much as he did him... most of the time. With Kojuurou as his mentor and teacher, he had faced countless expressions and moments of emotion that he no longer had to actually face the man to know how he was feeling.

Masamune knew that his retainer right now was looking him with mild disappointment. And yet, even though the One Eyed Dragon could acknowledge his feelings, he still could not understand half of the time exactly _why_ his retainer was feeling that way.

The stuffy quiet stretched on for a while as Masamune scratch his head trying to think up of an explanation while Kojuuoru simply stared at his lord in a near-perfect deadpan.

The young lord sighed, "What is it, Kojuurou-?"

"One would think that, by now, you would know your own samurai," his Right Eye spoke blandly. He gave his lord a pointed look as he tried to brush the comment off.

"I know enough about her to trust her; she's not the type to stay in these moods," Masamune said, waving his hand flippantly. "I'm sure it's nothing. She'll be up and at 'em in no time, **you see?**"

If the Number One of Oshuu had expected for his teacher to be satisfied with his answer, this wouldn't be the first time he predicted wrong. If anything, Kojuurou's reactions went into the opposite direction, a deep frown finding its way onto his face. The thing was: Kojuurou never burst into a lecture until it was necessary. And it was only necessary if Masamune couldn't learn his lesson, whether it was to stop trying to run from practice or to stop harassing his brother. Usually, Masamune would know a little bit on why he was in the wrong, but in this case, without Kojuurou's verbal urges, he had no idea where he screwed up.

His retainer sighed and shook his head. "I can only hope that you're right." Kojuurou said wryly, "If you're not, then things can only go bad to worse; you realize this, yes?"

With a curt nod, Masamune looked away, feeling chastised even though Kojuurou hadn't lectured him. "I'll go talk to her," he said. "Things'll be fine." The words rolled off his tongue easily but now he was feeling as if he was a little unsure of such sentiments. Tiny flashes of Aiko appeared in his mind; her eyes no longer had that bright determination she had before.

Where had it gone?

Suddenly Masamune was more alarmed at the fact that he hadn't realized this calamity earlier. But what was he going to do?

The two fell into a contemplative silence.

* * *

It didn't take long for Aiko to be caught alone by Masamune. She had tried her hardest to avoid the man, but as his samurai, it was harder to avoid him from clashing swords with her. If he did, well, nothing would have to be said about her skills.

As if without a worry, Masamune strolled down the halls and called out for his female samurai who froze in her tracks (she cringed) and turned around to face him. He gave her a grin to which she simply returned minimally with a tight-lipped smile, making him falter and truly realize why he was suddenly approaching her.

"My lord," she acknowledged, though her attention was diverted to all around her, searching for a way to escape the conversation.

"Aiko," he replied, a little perturbed by her jittery state. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Masamune couldn't help but give a small smile at that- truth was, he missed interacting with her; it was carefree and fun, and he would never get boring with her. He could honestly say that she was one of the greatest friends he had, not that he had many to count with his secluded compound, but the sentiment was good enough.

Masamune couldn't be help but feel rather let down when Aiko merely fidgeted in her spot instead of reacting like she would have normally done. She could have blushed and stuttered cutely, or she could have let out a melodic laugh that would have her eyes crinkled and cheeks flushing. He received none of that, and he began to wonder why.

"Err, yeah... I, um..." Aiko paused, her heart beating hard enough she could feel it pulsing in her ears. "I've been busy- like you, right? So..." She shuffled, oblivious to what to do in a situation like this if she had never planned to be caught like this.

To Masamune, it sounded as if she was making up an excuse. His throat tightened nervously, unsure if the girl in front of her was hiding something from him or something happened for her to react this way. Either way, the news would not be pleasant. Still, he desperately tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and asked slowly, "...Is there anything wrong?"

Just like that, Aiko's brain shut down, and all that she had planned to say to him after days of thought were dumped out into the abyss of no return. She stood there numbly, staring at the man who was looking at her in half-worry, half-confusion, as she was unable to respond to him the way she wanted to.

"I- I'm not ready to go yet," she said quickly, trying to avoid the possible disappointment for her failures.

Despite her wishes, she hadn't realized that her words were as blunt as a katana (which is, not at all).

"...What do you mean?"

In one part of his mind, he was screaming at himself that this was _bad, bad, bad_! But the small part of his brain still wanted to believe that she didn't mean what he thought.

Aiko hadn't expected him to respond so emotionlessly and stuttered out a pathetic response she was rather ashamed of, if her reddening face was an indication. "Uh, well- I'm just... not ready, not prepared..." And she looked up only to flinch at the restraint of rage hidden in his dragon eye.

Even from when he was young, Masamune was used to pain, to physical wounds and mental scars alike. His pride was torn and mended, and even the most traumatizing events didn't give him as much of a shock as this. Without warning, Masamune felt as if Aiko had personally picked up a sword and rammed it into his chest with all her might. That was because, despite her attempts to subdue the oncoming emotions, Masamune felt more betrayed than ever before. An angry heat began to burn within his chest at the thought that Aiko, of all people, would back out on a promise that they had made together. Why else would she say she "wasn't ready"? She was lying, and he didn't understand why!

"Are you saying-" Masamune growled out dangerously low, "You better be joking with me right now because I know you've been ready for a long time, and the only reason you'd back out is because you're afraid."

"I'm not chickening out!" She said hotly, offended that he would even think of her that way. She spoke defensively, "Why would you say that?"

"Well, I don't know, Aiko," Masamune stressed, a derisive tone creeping into his voice as he continued bitterly, "I'm just a _little_ confused right now because I have no idea what the _hell_ you're doing!"

Jumbling over her words, Aiko sputtered out, alarmed at his raising voice and lashing out at the situation. "I'm just not comfortable going out to the battlefield- what else do you want me to say?" She asked, her voice cracking midway, her words bordering desperation. Thoughts of regret clouded her thinking, what-ifs making her panic, and the notion that 'if she had told him what she felt in the first place, none of this would have happened' made her heart clench at their stupidity. But it was too late to say it; Masamune would never believe her now.

"An explanation would be nice," snapped Masamune who no longer bothered trying to hide his undertone. "Anything but what you're giving me, which is BS-"

"What do you mean it's 'BS'?" Aiko sputtered, all of her frustration pouring out. She glared at her lord indignantly as tears stung her eyes painfully. "How can you- How can you say that? I'm just not ready for war! What more do you want-?"

"So all of this was pointless." Masamune let his answer drown out the sound of what he believed to be her excuses. Miffed, Aiko could only clench her fists and try to calm down before she either tried to tackle her lord or burst into frustrated tears.

The warlord retorted shortly, his anger seeping out in waves until he was yelling in full volume at the girl, "Training you and helping you was a complete waste of time because in the end, **_you aren't taking it seriously!_**"

_**"How dare you!**_"

Their screams overlapped each other and clashed together horribly like shattered glass on the floor. Both of them glared intensely at each other with raw emotion- indigence, anger, disappointment, desperation- and refused to back down in this battle of will and reason. The ugly anger coursing through Aiko suddenly exploded, opening the door of darkness Aiko didn't think she had. Cooly, as her anger heightened to cold rage, she stepped closer to Masamune until she was chest to chest and spoke darkly, "You don't know me," Aiko began to yell, "you don't know anything about me!"

Refusing to back down and his anger taking over, Masamune pushed her smaller body back despite her equally stubborn stance. "I don't need to know anything because apparently everything that I thought I knew about you was a lie! You're just a coward!"

"I'm not-!"

Masamune pressed on, moving closer to Aiko as she took steps backwards to avoid him; in ways, it seemed as if the predator was forcing the prey into an inescapable corner. Suddenly, Aiko felt breathless.

The One Eyed Dragon leaned down to her as the female samurai pushed herself against the wall. He said quietly though with the vehemence of someone who was screaming out his hatred, "The person I wanted to help wasn't someone _weak_ like you."

...

...

Aiko stared up at Masamune with a poker face neither of them knew she had as he stared down at her, wondering what was going on in her head. As the silence caved in on them, Masamune could already feel the adrenaline disappearing, leaving him with a feeling of dread as the result of this fight.

His hands were placed right next to her narrow shoulders and his head was dipped down in order to look into her eyes with the close proximity they had. Their bodies were close enough to almost touch, but even at a small distance, Masamune could feel the warmth Aiko possessed. When he thought about these things, Masamune would have felt that same burning desire trying to overwhelm him, but now, within this certain cold wintry night with his samurai trembling slightly underneath him, trapped, he could feel that emotion increase ten-fold.

Despite the situation, Masamune could feel his desire pulsing through him, making his fists clench onto the wooden wall behind Aiko and his breath hitch.

This was absolutely not an appropriate response for someone who just screamed at a person for apparent betrayal, but with Aiko, certainly, everything was an exception.

He let out breathily, "Aiko-"

"Don't."

She responded with a monotone that matched her poker face. She felt cold inside, despite the warmth that Masamune offered. But even though she felt her body desperately call out for him, she refused to accept his warmth. For her, it seemed as if her heart had dropped to the bottom of her stomach and there was no longer anything in the place of it.

She was a coward?

She would have never thought so, but she supposed, in many ways, she was one. After all, she was running away again.

"Let go of me," she demanded quietly, pushing his hand away from her, only to have him grab onto her wrist.

Masamune growled suddenly, his eye flashing, "Where do you think you're going?" He glared at her, willing her not to leave, her tone reminding him of what had just occurred despite his jumbled emotions.

Aiko felt her anger flare again as she ripped her hand away from her lord, almost slapping him in the face. "You can deal with me however you want," she stated before spinning around on her heel and walked away, fuming.

At her impertinence, Masamune yelled out, wanting to have the last say in an argument he thought had already ended, "Maybe I will!"

He saw her freeze in her steps and then continue on, as if considering his words for the first time. He didn't let her out of his sight until she turned the corner.

Finally, Masamune let out a great sigh and combed through his messy brown hair in frustration. Despite the misery, he found that he loved every single moment he was fighting with her. It seemed that their negligence in interacting with one another deprived Masamune of Aiko so much that everything that involved her felt _good_ even if it wasn't supposed to be. Just being with her was the most alive he'd ever felt. Now that the argument was over and the adrenaline subsided, all the One Eyed Dragon could do was bemoan that this delayed conversation would continue to set back their relationship. He didn't want something stupid as his temper to ruin whatever he had with her, but...

_What the hell was that all about?_

He took a deep breath to calm his glowing anger before he was tempted to chase down Aiko and force the words from her mouth. She was lying to him, that much he knew, but about what and why he didn't understand. Masamune had to try again, but before that, he needed to calm down before he did something he'd regret.

This addiction to her was threatening to tear them apart.

* * *

When Aiko closed the door to her room behind her, she let out a breath she didn't know she held before leaning back against the wall and sliding down. She dreaded tomorrow where she wouldn't be able to bear looking at Masamune until she fixed the problem; and she hoped it was soon, because she wasn't sure if even she could keep up this act.

She rubbed the place where her heart was, the constant clenching hurting her physically. Masamune's words were harsh, but she found truth in them, as she always did. She needed to step it up, but the question was, how?

Aiko let out a sigh as she rolled her shoulders and prepared a futon to sleep on; she was tired from the emotionally draining fight, and she knew that if she continued to think about it, nothing would be solved and she would end up crying for no reason on her part.

Once she closed her eyes under the covers, she immediately fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: :) See you next chapter!**


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